Fauci says America getting back to normal and where it was before the coronavirus crisis 'might not ever happen' without a vaccine

In a Monday press briefing of the White House coronavirus task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the US might never get entirely back to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic, especially without a vaccine and effective treatments.

As of Monday, there were more than 364,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the US, with more than 9,600 deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Both economic activity and life as normal have come to a grinding halt across the country. Forty-four states have issued some form of a stay-at-home order temporarily closing down nonessential businesses and telling citizens to practice social distancing and stay at home as much as possible to mitigate the spread.

And while some states have shown encouraging signs that widespread social distancing is working to slow the progression of the disease, US officials warn that social distancing and other mitigation measures remain crucial to help flatten the rate of new cases.

Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the nation's top infectious-disease expert.