US President Donald Trump has warned that as many as 100,000 people could die of coronavirus in the US.
Trump also denied that his administration had acted too slowly.
More than 67,000 people have already died from COVID-19 in the US.
Trump expressed optimism about the development of a vaccine, suggesting one could be ready by the end of this year - although experts believe it will take 12 to 18 months.
Among the experts to disagree with this optimistic estimate is Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert.
Dr Fauci has previously said a vaccine will take up to 18 months to develop.
President Trump also rejected claims that his administration had failed to act quickly enough at the start of the outbreak, saying: "We did the right thing."
However, US broadcasters CNN and ABC report that the president's intelligence briefings mentioned the coronavirus as early as 3 January.
[Source: BBC]
