Coronavirus

U.S. Officials Consider Relaxing Lockdown Requirements

The U.S.' top infectious disease expert says the Trump administration is discussing options to relax coronavirus lockdown guidelines.

U.S. Officials Consider Relaxing Lockdown Requirements
Alex Brandon / AP
SMS

The Trump administration is taking steps toward possibly relaxing coronavirus guidelines and allowing some Americans to return to work.

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicts if the guidelines expiring at the end of this month are successful, then social distancing orders could ease up.  

Fauci told Fox News: "If, in fact, we are successful, it makes sense to at least plan what a re-entry into normality would look like. ... That doesn't mean we're going to do it right now, but it means we need to be prepared to ease into that."

University of Washington model that has been closely monitored by health officials originally projected between 100,000 and 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. That model has since been updated and puts that number closer to 60,000.

President Trump has been eager to get things back to normal and help the economy recover, previously hinting at the idea of relaxing federal guidelines by Easter. And Fauci says discussions are already underway in the White House.

The city of Wuhan, China, where the virus is believed to have originated, has already ended its 76-day lockdown after China reported zero new coronavirus-related deaths for the first time since January.

As Newsy previously reported, countries including Denmark and Austria are also taking measures to relax guidelines and slowly return things to normal. They've both said their early responses to the outbreak helped them control the virus within their borders.

For Newsy, I'm Gage Jackson.

Contains footage from CNN.