Mike Pence: Much of the coronavirus epidemic could be 'behind us by early June'

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Much of the coronavirus pandemic could be "behind" the United States by early June, Vice President Mike Pence said Friday.

In an interview on the "Fox News Rundown" podcast with host Jon Decker, Pence said that he believes if the American people continue to follow stringent COVID-19 health guidelines and practice social distancing, then the situation could be greatly improved in a month.

"I think if the American people continue to practice social distancing, if they heed the guidance particularly through any phased reopening from their state and local officials, I believe we could have much of this coronavirus epidemic behind us by early June," he predicted.

"But, it's [going to] take all of us and doing everything that we need to continue to do to get through this," Pence remarked. "But, I have every confidence that we will."

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"And," he added, "as the summer goes forward, we'll continue to expand resources, expand testing work, to develop therapeutics and vaccines and...be ready for whatever may come in the future."

The United States has now conducted at least six million coronavirus tests and on Wednesday the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci reported that experimental drug Remdesivir has a proven benefit in fighting the virus.

Pence told Decker that President Trump has "made it clear" the administration would "do whatever it takes to see the American people, American families, and American businesses -- large and small -- through this time."

"But, the most important thing we can do is put the coronavirus behind us," he stated further. "And the good news is -- as the president reflected just a few days ago -- we're seeing great progress even in the areas most profoundly impacted by the coronavirus. We're seeing stabilization. We're seeing a drop in hospitalizations. We're seeing a decline in cases. And it's all a testament to the American people, to their willingness to put into practice the social distancing guidelines that we unveiled 45 days ago."

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"The president [has] said we're open to additional support for states around the country. But, for now, our primary objective is to get America safely back open, get America back to work, and put the virus in the past," Pence concluded.