A TOLL of as many as 240,000 deaths in U.S. from the coronavirus could strike the nation Shutterstock).

“A hell of a two bad weeks” was predicted by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, warning the nation that as many as 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die from the coronavirus outbreak, even with the preventative measures now in place.

So far, the virus has killed over 3,500 Americans and infected 170,000 more, according to the Associated Press. The importance of rigidly adhering to social distance guidelines was emphasized in heading off a worst-case outcome.

“We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads the White House’s coronavirus team.

“This is going to be one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in this country,” said Trump. “We’re going to lose thousands of people.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert, said “We cannot be discouraged by that [the increase of cases and deaths] because the mitigation is actually working and will work.”

Coronavirus case toll tops 800,000

The worldwide count of confirmed cases of the coronavirus continues to storm toward one million, with the United States still suffering from the highest toll.

THE NUMBER of confirmed coronavirus cases was at 838,061 as of midday Tuesday (Pexels/Anna Shvets).

According to John Hopkins University’s monitoring, the number of confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday (today) was 838,061. The U.S. had 177,452, followed by Italy (105,792), Spain (94,417), China (82,278) and Germany (65,180).

However, the total number of deaths is 41,261, led by 12,428 in Italy, 8,269 in France and 3,187 in the Hubei region of China.

In the United States, the areas most affected were New York City with 932 deaths with another 198 in nearby New Jersey.

There is some good news on the virus front, however.  Epidemiologists in California are expressing cautious optimism that the early use of “Stay-in-place” and social distancing orders will slow the growth of the outbreak, although an increase in the number of confirmed cases will continue to rise for a while.

NFL adds two teams to playoffs

Assuming there is a National Football League season this fall, there will be two more teams at the playoff party.

NFL team owners voted Tuesday via teleconference to make the additions. One more team in each conference will get the extra slot. Only the top team in each conference will get a bye the first week.

The seventh-seeded team with play the second-seeded in its conference, with the sixth meeting the third and the fifth at the fourth in the wild card round, according to the Associated Press.

Orange County COVID-19 cases up to 502

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Orange County was put today (Tuesday) at 502, an increase from 464 from the previous count on Monday.

The Orange County Health Care Agency listed the total deaths at seven, with four reported on Tuesday. Ninety-four people were hospitalized today, with 46 cases in intensive care units.

The cities in Orange County with the most cases are Irvine with 50, followed by Newport Beach and Anaheim each with 46. In The Tribune’s coverage area, Huntington Beach has 32 cases, followed by Garden Grove with 10, Westminster with seven and Stanton with one.