According to The Weather Channel
The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has topped 1,000, as one of the nation’s top health officials warns that the outbreak will continue to spread.
“I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a U.S. House committee Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press. Fauci says controlling the virus depends on whether the U.S. can curtail the influx of travelers who may be carrying the virus, and the whether state and local communities can contain outbreaks. Fauci said was asked if the worst was yet to come. His answer: “Yes, it is.”
At least 32 people had died in the U.S. due to the illness as of Wednesday morning. Infections have been confirmed in at least 38 states and Washington D.C., while Arkansas and New Mexico became the latest states to announce their first cases Wednesday. Most of the deaths remain in Washington state, where at least 24 people have died and a cluster of cases is linked to a nursing home in suburban Seattle. Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Wednesday that public gatherings with more than 250 people would be banned in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties through at least the end of March.
“This is not a time to be going out into public in close contact,” Inslee told reporters. “It’s just too dangerous.”
The Internal Revenue Service is considering giving Americans more time to file their federal taxes in an attempt to help stimulate the U.S. economy, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Sources told the Journal an extension to the April 15 filing deadline was likely, but details were still being worked out. President Donald Trump has proposed a temporary ban on payroll taxes as part of an economic stimulus package.