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As models projecting the number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. are revised lower this week...

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK GOVERNOR, ANDREW CUOMO, SAYING:

"... we are flattening the curve."

... and hospitalizations in the hardest hit parts of the country show signs of slowing, pressure to reopen the economy is growing.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"It would be nice to, uh, be able to open with a big bang."

The Labor Department reported a third straight week of massive jobless claims, underscoring the huge economic cost to social distancing measures.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NIH INFECTIOUS DISEASE CHIEF DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, SAYING:

"It's not going to be a light switch that you turn on and off."

But on Thursday, the top U.S. infectious disease expert warned against easing social distancing measures too soon in the face of improving data on the outbreak.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NIH INFECTIOUS DISEASE CHIEF DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, SAYING:

"What's happening is that we are doing a very good job on mitigation, on the physical separation, the adherence to the guidelines. And as new data comes in, what you do, you integrate that data into the model to modify the model, and that's why you're seeing those projections coming down somewhat. That's good news. But the thing we've got be careful of that we don't then take that good news to think that we might be able to pull back a bit. We've got to continue, in many respects, to redouble our efforts at the mitigation of physical separation in order to keep those numbers down and hopefully even get them lower than what you’ve heard recently.”

Stay-at-home orders that have closed non-essential workplaces in 42 states have drastically slowed the U.S. economy.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the improving projections could mean Americans could go back to work sooner.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"I would say we're ahead of schedule. Now, you hate to say it too loudly because all of a sudden things don't happen. But I think we will be sooner rather than later."

Still, the death toll from the virus continues to grow and the number of infections in the U.S. approached half a million.

Officials have warned Americans to expect alarming numbers of coronavirus deaths this week, with the peak coming on Easter Sunday this weekend. And authorities warned that the official death tally may understate the true number because it does not include those who died at home.

On New York's Hart Island, drone footage showed giant trenches where contract laborers were hired to bury the dead in its potter's field as the city's daily death rate reached a grim new record on Thursday.

New York City has long used Hart Island and low-paid jail inmates to bury New Yorkers with no known next of kin or whose family are unable to arrange a funeral.

The Department of Corrections, which oversees the burials, said - typically - the number of bodies buried here each week, was now roughly the same number being interred each day.