The White House is expected to issue new guidelines early this week on how it plans to reopen parts of the country, as the 15-day window on its social distancing measures comes to an end. The administration has teased a system based on the level of risk in each county, though public health experts say that would require a significant boost in testing capacity.

Trump, eager to restart the nation's economy, earlier in the week suggested strict social distancing measures could be lifted in time for Easter in mid-April. However, he's appeared to back off that deadline, which experts have warned was premature and could result in more deaths.

Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, on Sunday morning suggested it would likely be "a matter of weeks" before the U.S. begins easing restrictions. Gottlieb, appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, also said he thinks it's unlikely the White House will ease up this week.

"The White House has talked about being data-driven," he said. "I'm hopeful that they will be. It's too early to lift these measures."

Gottlieb's paper also suggests that even before restrictions are eased, Americans should wear nonmedical face masks in public to help prevent asymptomatic people from unknowingly spreading the disease. The World Health Organization has recommended the use of face masks in the case of a severe flu pandemic, and their use is more prevalent in other countries. But it’s unclear if the country has enough nonmedical face masks for the general public.

The U.S. needs to get to the point where it can conduct 750,000 coronavirus tests per week before it can begin dialing back social distancing measures, according to the paper. Gottlieb said that capacity could be available by the end of the week.

