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The devastating coronavirus outbreak in the United States has finally led U.S. President Donald Trump to talk about the real coronavirus situation in the country following weeks of seeming denial of the impact of the virus on the American public.

Trump Warns of More Difficult Weeks to Come

In a briefing on Tuesday, Trump finally warned of more difficult days to come as the U.S. grapples with the reality that the CoVID-19 strain is sweeping the world's largest economy just as bad as it is doing in other countries.

According to CNN, it's been several decades since a president of the U.S. had to come to terms with himself in accepting the losses that come with a crisis, much less with a health emergency that is pushing the global economy to its tipping point.

"We're going to go through a very tough two weeks," Trump said during the White House briefing. Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also spoke about the CoVID-19 situation.

Virus Model Suggests Grim Death Toll in the U.S.

During the briefing on Tuesday, Fauci and Birx unveiled a virus model that suggested the CoVID-19 strain may kill up to 240,000 Americans even as stricter measures are laid out for the public to follow, the New York Times reported.

After Fauci's presentation, Trump called for one more month of social distancing among citizens, adding that the upcoming two weeks will be "very, very painful."

The U.S. on Tuesday officially overtook China's death toll with over 3,900 lives lost to the novel coronavirus.

New York Governor Notes Underestimation of CoVID-19

In a separate briefing on Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo noted that the state now has at least 1,550 deaths from the novel virus. He added that it appears government officials underestimated the capacity of the CoVID-19 strain.

According to CBS News, Cuomo acknowledged that the coronavirus is bigger than what was initially expected by the government. He also warned that the state has yet to hit its peak in the outbreak.

Cuomo's brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, is among the U.S. cases who tested positive of CoVID-19. The governor said his brother will overcome the disease.

New York has registered over 75,000 confirmed CoVID-19 cases as of Tuesday.

New Jersey Records Over 2,000 New Cases

In New Jersey, 2,196 new coronavirus cases were recorded on Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 18,696. The death toll also surged to 267 after 69 new deaths were reported in 24 hours, nj.com reported.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy acknowledged the fact that the numbers will rise further in the coming days. During his Tuesday briefing, Murphy encouraged NJ residents to stay at home.

So far, over 45,000 people in New Jersey have been tested for potential CoVID-19 infection, state health commissioner Judith Persichilli said.

Washington Couple Die on the Same Day

Local media late Monday reported the deaths of elderly couple Merle and Delores Tofte of Washington, who died hours within each other after contracting the novel virus.

The couple celebrated Dolores' 85^th birthday several weeks before they both died on March 16. The elderly couple were not together during their deaths as they were on separate floors at the Peace Health Southwest Washington Hospital.

As of Tuesday, Washington reported at least 5,453 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 225 deaths.

California to Release Over 3,000 Inmates

The Californian government is processing the early release of around 3,500 inmates as part of the efforts to prevent further coronavirus infections in prisons across the state.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that the government is taking "extraordinary" measures to hopefully slow down the spread of the highly-infectious virus in the state's 35 prisons.

The news came after the state recorded at least 8,558 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 182 deaths.

TagsUS Devastating Coronavirus, crisis, 240, 000 Infections