“We don’t know everything about this virus and we really better be pretty careful, particularly when it comes to children,” Fauci told the committee. At one point, he told members that “the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the re-entry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far”.

Fauci later clarified that he was not implying students should be barred from returning to class until a Covid-19 vaccine was developed. But his comments were nonetheless seized on by conservative commentators, as well as Republican Senator Rand Paul, who called the notion “kind of ridiculous”.

“To me, it’s not an acceptable answer,” Trump said of Fauci on Wednesday. He said the coronavirus has “had very little impact on young people”, although there is growing concern over cases of a mysterious inflammatory syndrome in young people that is thought to be related to the virus.

Speaking of Fauci, Trump told Maria Bartiromo in an interview for Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria that “I totally disagree with him on schools”.

Fauci self-quarantining along with two other White House task force members

Trump and Fauci have publicly disagreed before, including on the effectiveness of certain drugs that have been tested to treat the virus. Trump has also complained to aides and confidants about Fauci’s positive media attention and his willingness to contradict the president. But Trump has also acknowledge that the blowback to removing the doctor would be fierce.

In his testimony, Fauci issued a blunt warning that cities and states could “turn back the clock” and see more death and economic damage if they lift stay-at-home orders too quickly – a message that stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s push to reopen the nation as he tries to blunt the economic damage caused by the pandemic during an election year.

“There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” Fauci warned as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns.

Among those are Colorado and North Dakota, whose governors met with Trump on Wednesday.

In North Dakota, which has had fewer cases than many other states, Republican Governor Doug Burgum allowed most businesses to reopen May 1 with precautions that include limiting bars and restaurants to half capacity and requiring barbers and cosmetologists to wear masks.

Burgum announced this week that schools may offer some summer programmes beginning June 1 if local school officials approve and precautions are taken, such as limiting class sizes.

Fauci dismisses coronavirus lab origin claims as ‘circular argument’

The US has the largest coronavirus outbreak in the world by far: 1.37 million infections and over 82,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 4.2 million people and killed some 292,000, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. Experts say the actual numbers are likely far higher.

In the US, as in many countries, the lockdowns have resulted in catastrophic levels of job losses. The US unemployment rate soared to 14.7 per cent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression. There are roughly 30 million Americans out of work.

In Washington, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that a prolonged recession could cause extensive damage to the economy, and urged Congress and the White House to act further to prevent long-lasting damage.

In Geneva, meanwhile, a top World Health Organisation official warned that it’s possible the new coronavirus may be here to stay.

Italian hospital offers Fauci work if Trump fires him

“This virus may never go away,” Dr Michael Ryan said at a press briefing. Without a vaccine, he said it could take years for the global population to build up sufficient levels of immunity.

“I think it’s important to put this on the table,” he said. “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities,” like other previously novel diseases such as HIV, which have never disappeared, but for which effective treatments have been developed.