White House plans to wrap up virus task force by end of month

Vice-President Mike Pence confirmed Tuesday that the White House will wind down the coronavirus task force at the end of May as a forecasting model often cited by the Trump administration doubled its death-toll projection over the relaxation of social-distancing guidelines.

Total deaths in the US could approach 135,000 by August as states reopen their economies, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, one of several models that researchers have developed to chart the potential path of the disease.

"Growing contacts among people will promote transmission of the coronavirus," the institute said, adding that factors such as warming summer temperatures won't offset the rising mobility, "thereby fueling a significant increase in projected deaths".

It was the second projection of an increase in deaths in the US in two days. The New York Times on Monday cited an unpublished report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicting that the daily US death toll would double between now and June 1.

The Trump administration rebuked the report, saying the president's decision to reopen the country was based on scientific evidence.

More than 30 states have reopened or eased restrictions, and more are expected to do so soon. In Arizona, which was visited Tuesday by President Donald Trump, stores may reopen by the end of the week, said Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican.

Pence, who was in charge of the task force, confirmed a New York Times report earlier Tuesday about its closing, telling reporters that his goal was to start handing responsibility back to various government agencies by May 25, Memorial Day.

"I think we're starting to look at the Memorial Day window, early June window as a time when we could begin to transition back to having our agencies begin to manage … our national response in a more traditional manner," Pence said.

Pence said the task force closing was "a reflection of the tremendous progress we've made as a country".

Pence's briefing with reporters came minutes before Trump touched down in Arizona, where he toured a Honeywell International aerospace facility in Phoenix that makes protective masks.

In Arizona, Trump said, "We can't keep our country closed. We have to open our country. ... Will some people be badly affected? Yes."

The president said he would continue to hear from experts such as Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, as well as "other doctors".

"They will be (heard from), and so will other doctors, and so will other experts in the field," Trump said. "We will have something in a different form."

The Times report said White House officials informed members of the task force that they plan to finish the operation in coming weeks.

But Fauci told CBS News on Tuesday morning that he hadn't been told the task force would be shutting down. "That's not true, I've been in every task force meeting, and that's not what they are doing," he said.

As he was departing the White House for Arizona, Trump said he was allowing Fauci to testify before the Republican-led Senate but not the Democrat-led House, calling the lower chamber a "setup".

"The House is a bunch of Trump-haters," Trump said.