US Coronavirus Fight Enters Crucial Weeks As The Number Of Cases Tops 330,000
(CNN) -- The next two weeks will be crucial in the United States' fight against the coronavirus, warn health officials, who are urging Americans to continue practicing social-distancing measures.
"This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe," Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Saturday. She added, "and that means everybody doing the six-feet distancing, washing your hands."
Sunday, the number of cases nationwide climbed to at least 331,151, with at least 9,441 dead, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Of those deaths, 1,344 were reported Saturday -- the most fatalities recorded in the US in a single day.
With the number of cases continuing to rise, President Donald Trump on Saturday offered a grim picture of what's to come, telling Americans, "There will be a lot of death."
Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, the US surgeon general, likened the coming week to a Pearl Harbor or 9/11 moment, saying on "Fox News Sunday" it would be the "hardest and the saddest week in most Americans' lives."
Meantime, appearing Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases conceded it "would be a false statement" to say the US has the pandemic under control.
"We are struggling to get it under control," Fauci said.
Fauci continued to stress the importance of social distancing measures. On Saturday he pointed to Washington state, where such measures appear to be paying off.
The Boston Department of Health issued a public health advisory Sunday recommending residents -- except for those deemed essential workers -- stay home from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., beginning Monday, Mayor Marty Walsh said.
Additionally, everyone is encouraged to wear a face-covering when in public, a step that aligns with the White House's recommendation Friday that Americans wear face masks -- though Trump said the recommendation was voluntary.
"If you don't agree with me or you don't believe me or the governor or someone else, just turn the TV on," Walsh said. "Watch the number of lives that are being lost every day to this virus."
Still, modeling cited by White House officials this week project that, even with stringent mitigation efforts, between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans will die from coronavirus. And President Trump has refrained from a nationwide stay-at-home order, preferring to leave it to states to decide.
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