Federal coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the US until at least April 30, President Donald Trump has said.

The president had previously suggested that restrictions could be relaxed as early as Easter, which falls in mid-April.

He said: “The highest point of the death rate is likely to hit in two weeks.”

President Trump appeared to be referring to peak infection rates that experts fear could overwhelm hospitals.

White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci had earlier warned that the virus could kill up to 200,000 Americans.

He said that it was “entirely conceivable” that millions of Americans could eventually be infected.

The US now has more than 155,000 confirmed cases.

As of March 29, 2,493 deaths had been recorded in the country in relation to Covid-19, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University.

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The US last week became the country with the most reported cases, ahead of Italy and China.

Speaking during the latest Coronavirus Task Force press briefing at the White House on March 29, President Trump said that measures such as social distancing were “the way you win”, adding that the US “will be well on our way to recovery” by June.

Suggesting that the “peak” of death rates in the US was likely to hit in two weeks, President Trump said that “nothing would be worse than declaring victory before victory is won – that would be the greatest loss of all”.

Analysts suggest that when President Trump referred to a peak in the “death rate”, he probably meant the total number of recorded infections.