US President Donald Trump has confirmed the White House coronavirus task force will be winding down.

Vice-President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the emergency task force he heads will not ''be needed much longer than the end of this month.''

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-accuses-beijing-of-aggressive-behaviour-in-south-china-sea-296896" hreflang="en">US accuses Beijing of aggressive behaviour in South China Sea</a>

"I think we're starting to look at the Memorial Day (May 25) window, early June window" for shutting it down, he told reporters.

The coronavirus task force has spearheaded the complex response to the fast-spreading virus, which has already killed about 70,000 Americans.

The group headed by Pence and reporting to President Donald Trump coordinates between medical institutes, political staff and state governors, some of whom have spent weeks frantically trying to help overwhelmed hospitals.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-lead-coronavirus-expert-to-testify-in-senate-on-countrys-covid-19-response-296894" hreflang="en">US lead coronavirus expert to testify in Senate on country's COVID-19 response</a>

The task force also drew on medical experts to formulate national recommendations on social distancing.

Pence said that those efforts will soon be ready to be turned over to regular government agencies working "in a more traditional manner."

Downgrading of the situation from an outright emergency goes with Trump's new focus on pushing the country to embrace reopening of the economy.

Trump says that while he wants a "safe" reopening, the hardship caused by the economic shutdown is the main threat.

"We can't keep our country closed for the next five years," he said Tuesday while on a trip to a masks-making factory in Arizona.

He conceded that some people would be "badly affected."

Critics have accused the president of sacrificing Americans' public health in his eagerness to reopen the US economy ahead of his re-election battle in November.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany insisted that Trump will continue to be briefed by the medical teams, even if there is no formal crisis group. She tweeted:

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Reporting on the task force is being misconstrued to suggest the White House is no longer involving medical experts. This is totally false. 
 
President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> will continue his data-driven approach towards safely re-opening.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1257757508241895435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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US President Donald Trump has confirmed the White House coronavirus task force will be winding down. Vice-President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the emergency task force he heads will not ''be needed much longer than the end of this month.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed the White House coronavirus task force will be winding down. Vice-President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the emergency task force he heads will not ''be needed much longer than the end of this month.'' Also read: US accuses Beijing of aggressive behaviour in South China Sea "I think we're starting to look at the Memorial Day (May 25) window, early June window" for shutting it down, he told reporters. The coronavirus task force has spearheaded the complex response to the fast-spreading virus, which has already killed about 70,000 Americans. The group headed by Pence and reporting to President Donald Trump coordinates between medical institutes, political staff and state governors, some of whom have spent weeks frantically trying to help overwhelmed hospitals. Also read: US lead coronavirus expert to testify in Senate on country's COVID-19 response The task force also drew on medical experts to formulate national recommendations on social distancing. Pence said that those efforts will soon be ready to be turned over to regular government agencies working "in a more traditional manner." Downgrading of the situation from an outright emergency goes with Trump's new focus on pushing the country to embrace reopening of the economy. Trump says that while he wants a "safe" reopening, the hardship caused by the economic shutdown is the main threat. "We can't keep our country closed for the next five years," he said Tuesday while on a trip to a masks-making factory in Arizona. He conceded that some people would be "badly affected." Critics have accused the president of sacrificing Americans' public health in his eagerness to reopen the US economy ahead of his re-election battle in November. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany insisted that Trump will continue to be briefed by the medical teams, even if there is no formal crisis group. She tweeted: Reporting on the task force is being misconstrued to suggest the White House is no longer involving medical experts. This is totally false. President @realDonaldTrump will continue his data-driven approach towards safely re-opening. — Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) May 5, 2020 ×

Trump set to disband White House coronavirus task force

The White House coronavirus response coordinator,&nbsp;Dr. Deborah Birx, has revealed a&nbsp;"breakthrough"&nbsp;which US needs in order&nbsp;to screen large numbers of people.

As per&nbsp;Birx, this&nbsp;breakthrough is antigen testing which is often used to check for the flu and strep.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/when-will-coronavirus-end-in-us-uk-france-india-study-predicts-dates-month-295324">When will COVID-19 end in US, UK, France, India? Study predicts dates &amp; month</a>

The human body recognizes and&nbsp;responds to&nbsp;antigens. The antibodies produced by their bodies&nbsp;defend them against intruders such as antigens.

Antigen tests look for pieces of a virus which are usually the proteins that cover its surface.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/has-us-been-undercounting-covid-19-deaths-a-new-analysis-suggests-so-295223" hreflang="en">Has US been undercounting COVID-19 deaths? A new analysis suggests so</a>

It&nbsp;differs from a majority of&nbsp;Covid-19 tests, which look for the genetic material of the virus and require a number of chemicals to operate, many of which are in short supply.

According to the US&nbsp;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antigen tests are simpler and they can provide results in as little as 15 minutes.

However, major limitations of the test are&nbsp;that it&nbsp;can also take hours to run, it is potentially less reliable, they're not easy to make, and validating their accuracy can be time-consuming and expensive. They&nbsp;did not have a big market before&nbsp;now.&nbsp;

Antigen tests are tailored to the 3D structure of the targeted virus, which is more nebulous than a neat, orderly genetic code. Making a test that comes back positive for the novel coronavirus and negative for everything else is extremely difficult.

The White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, has revealed a "breakthrough" which US needs in order to screen large numbers of people. As per Birx, this breakthrough is antigen testing which is often used to check for the flu and strep.

The White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, has revealed a "breakthrough" which US needs in order to screen large numbers of people. As per Birx, this breakthrough is antigen testing which is often used to check for the flu and strep. Also read: When will COVID-19 end in US, UK, France, India? Study predicts dates & month The human body recognizes and responds to antigens. The antibodies produced by their bodies defend them against intruders such as antigens. Antigen tests look for pieces of a virus which are usually the proteins that cover its surface. Also read: Has US been undercounting COVID-19 deaths? A new analysis suggests so It differs from a majority of Covid-19 tests, which look for the genetic material of the virus and require a number of chemicals to operate, many of which are in short supply. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antigen tests are simpler and they can provide results in as little as 15 minutes. However, major limitations of the test are that it can also take hours to run, it is potentially less reliable, they're not easy to make, and validating their accuracy can be time-consuming and expensive. They did not have a big market before now. Antigen tests are tailored to the 3D structure of the targeted virus, which is more nebulous than a neat, orderly genetic code. Making a test that comes back positive for the novel coronavirus and negative for everything else is extremely difficult.

White House coronavirus coordinator reveals 'breakthrough' which US requires

US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire his lead virus expert Dr Anthony Fauci after he criticised him for slow response to tackle coronavirus pandemic.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-could-start-reopening-in-may-says-top-virus-advisor-292153" hreflang="en">US could start reopening in May, says top virus advisor</a>

Trump retweeted&nbsp;a post calling for the government’s top infectious disease specialist to be fired after the doctor acknowledged that shutting down the country earlier could have saved lives.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-over-21300-coronavirus-deaths-us-spends-easter-sunday-on-lockdown-292129" hreflang="en">With over 21,300 coronavirus deaths, US spends Easter Sunday on lockdown</a>

The tweet, which was written by Republican DeAnna Lorraine who is running for Congress, said:

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Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives. 
 
Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. 
 
Time to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FireFauci?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FireFauci</a>...
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAnna4Congress/status/1249457858686656512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Earlier, in a television interview Fauci&nbsp;confirmed&nbsp;a New York Times report&nbsp;which said he and other Trump administration officials recommended the implementation of physical distancing to combat the coronavirus in February, but were rebuffed for almost a month.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/here-comes-the-sun-gets-us-hospitals-through-dark-days-of-pandemic-292151" hreflang="en">'Here Comes the Sun' gets US hospitals through dark days of pandemic</a>

Asked on why the administration did not act when he and other officials advised, Fauci said that, ''when we make a recommendation it is necessary that it will be taken up''.

More than 559,000 cases of Covid-19 have been&nbsp;confirmed in the United States along with&nbsp;22,115 deaths.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire his lead virus expert Dr Anthony Fauci after he criticised him for slow response to tackle coronavirus pandemic.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire his lead virus expert Dr Anthony Fauci after he criticised him for slow response to tackle coronavirus pandemic. Also read: US could start reopening in May, says top virus advisor Trump retweeted a post calling for the government’s top infectious disease specialist to be fired after the doctor acknowledged that shutting down the country earlier could have saved lives. Also read: With over 21,300 coronavirus deaths, US spends Easter Sunday on lockdown The tweet, which was written by Republican DeAnna Lorraine who is running for Congress, said: Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives. Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. Time to #FireFauci... — DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) April 12, 2020 × Earlier, in a television interview Fauci confirmed a New York Times report which said he and other Trump administration officials recommended the implementation of physical distancing to combat the coronavirus in February, but were rebuffed for almost a month. Also read: 'Here Comes the Sun' gets US hospitals through dark days of pandemic Asked on why the administration did not act when he and other officials advised, Fauci said that, ''when we make a recommendation it is necessary that it will be taken up''. More than 559,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the United States along with 22,115 deaths.

Why is Donald Trump threatening to fire his lead virus expert?