Fauci: 'Mitigation is actually working'

Despite the grim news that the White House is projecting that between 100,000 to 240,000 people in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus pandemic if social distancing measures continue to be followed, a key member of the president's coronavirus task force said mitigation efforts are having a positive effect.

"It's tough. People are suffering," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday.

"People are dying. It's inconvenient from a societal standpoint, from an economic standpoint to go through this (social distancing). But this is going to be the answer to our problems," he said.

Fauci said that when the increase in new cases begin to level off, fewer hospitalizations follow, then fewer intensive care cases, and ultimately fewer deaths.

And he said it appears there are signs of progress and "little inklings" of such a development in New York City.

"Our goal, which I believe we can accomplish, is to get the hotspot places, the New Yorks, the New Jersey, and help them to get around that curve," he said.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed past 3,500  Tuesday, eclipsing China’s official count.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.