President Trump takes questions during a briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
The White House coronavirus task force will address reporters and the public on Monday, after a weekend of COVID-19 deaths raised the nation’s death toll to the highest in the world.
As the pandemic continues to ravage the globe, President Trump says he plans to unveil a council dedicated to “reopening” the country. Members of the committee are expected to be announced this week.
Watch Monday’s briefing, scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, live here.
Experts have recently projected a more optimistic outlook on the coronavirus’ ultimate impact, lowering the predicted number of U.S. lives lost to 60,000 people from original projections of 100,000-200,000. But the country is still bracing for severe social and economic fallout from the spread of the virus.
Trump last week said he will surround himself with the “greatest minds” to advise him on the best way to approach restarting the country’s halted economy.
“We’re going to make a decision and hopefully it’s going to be the right decision.”
Monday’s briefing comes amid speculation that Trump could be planning to oust Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s leading immunologists, from the coronavirus task force— a notion the administration has denied.
“This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump.”
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