President Donald Trump announced the extension of federal coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing on Sunday.

The extended national policy comes after a federal infectious disease official issued a warning as US fatalities climbed past 2,500.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), echoed the warning. He predicts over 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die due to the global pandemic.

Trump acknowledged 15 days of quarantine wasn't enough after hearing the measure prevented the deaths of over 2.2 million people. At a recent briefing, he revealed he expects the peak in death rate in the United States to hit in two weeks.

The announcement came after Trump said he hoped to lift the quarantine orders in the country this coming Easter. He also expressed concern about the economic fallout that keeping businesses closed would bring.

The quarantine policy is voluntary, however, many states have issued their own shelter-in-place orders that led to the closing of many schools and businesses.

The Trump administration is expected to share further data and plans on Tuesday.

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A patient is wheeled into the trauma center at the Elmhurst Hospital Center where testing and treatment is taking place in Queens, March 27, 2020.
(Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

The United States currently has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world with more than 142,000 cases as of writing. The grim news comes after US health officials reported a new high for fatalities on Thursday where 237 died due to coronavirus complications.

In a recent report, sixty-six residents of a long-term care facility in Maryland tested positive for COVID-19. Governor Larry Hogan said he expects Maryland to resemble New York in the next two weeks as their tally continues to grow past the previously reported 1,239 cases.

Non-essential businesses and schools remain closed in Maryland.

Meanwhile, New York's death toll surged past 1,000 on Sunday less than a month after state authorities reported the first case.

The first known victim of COVID-19 in the state involved a health care worker who had just returned from Iran. The second case, which involved a lawyer from New Rochelle, was discovered two days later.

On March 10, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had declared the New Rochelle suburb as a 'containment area', forcing local authorities to close all schools and places of worship. The state also saw its first death due to the coronavirus the same day---a mere nine days after the state's first reported case.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said COVID-19 cases could hit 160 million to 210 million by the end of the year, with 21 million cases needing hospitalization, and 1.7 million dead.

Authorities are now scrambling to keep bed spaces open for COVID-19 victims as cases continue to rise. Former Louisiana Secretary of Health Dr. Rebekah Gee said beds are necessary to save the lives of patients. She also believes the US has yet to see the peak of the crisis.

The Trump administration is now airlifting medical supplies from around the globe in a bid to curb the diminishing supply of personal protective gear and other medical equipment.

A flight from Shanghai recently carried millions of surgical gloves, as well as thousands of N-95 masks, landed in the country on Sunday. Medical authorities expect 20 other shipments of medical supplies over the coming weeks.