Robert Redfield, the director of Centers for Disease Control, said Friday that the U.S. could have more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus by June 1. Redfield's comments come as the U.S. has reported over 88,000 deaths from the coronavirus, with over 1.47 million cases.

“CDC tracks 12 different forecasting models of possible #COVID19 deaths in the US. As of May 11, all forecast an increase in deaths in the coming weeks and a cumulative total exceeding 100,000 by June 1,” Redfield posted on Twitter.

The models are based on how Americans are handling social distancing guidelines.

U.S. medical experts estimated in late March that the coronavirus could claim 100,000 and 240,000 lives despite increased safety measures.

Most U.S. states have begun to reopen businesses and services this weekend. An analysis by the Associated Press reveals that 41 states fall short of coronavirus testing levels that experts say are necessary to avoid further deadly outbreaks of the virus.

President Trump unveiled a government effort Friday called “Operation Warp Speed” that aims to develop a vaccine by the end of the year. At the same time, Trump claimed the U.S. would return to normal with or without a vaccine.

"I just want to make something clear, it's very important. Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back,” he said at the Rose Garden. "And we're starting a process."

Trump on Thursday called coronavirus testing “overrated.”

“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,” Trump said. “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases. They [the media] don’t want to write that.”

Testing helps public health experts better identify the nature of the outbreak and allows authorities to prevent the spread of infection. Countries such as South Korea and Germany have used widespread testing to keep the virus under control.

RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus Trump CDC