President Trump Extends Physical Distancing Guidelines; US Passes 142,000 Coronavirus Cases

This week was the end of the White House's 15-day initiative to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), but now President Trump is extending the guidelines on physical distancing for at least a month. 

President Trump's announcement comes as the number of cases in the U.S. passed 142,000 with more than 2,500 deaths. 

The President is now backing off his goal of re-opening the country by Easter and is extending physical distancing guidelines until the end of April. 

"Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won" President Trump said. "When you hear these kind of numbers and you hear the potential travesty; we don't want to do anything were we have a spike up." 

The top medical experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force predict up to 200,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 and said Americans need to stay vigilant and stay home. 

New York is still the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., with more that 59,000 cases. 

President Trump said he hopes the U.S. will be on its way to recovery by June 1. 

Nationally, more than 4,500 people have recovered from the virus.