KEY POINTS A recently published research warned that the guidelines of social distancing to stay six feet apart were “inadequate and outdated"

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the research was misleading

On Sunday, Fauci had offered a gloomy prediction stating that the deadly virus could kill as many as 200,000 Americans

A recently published research stated that coronavirus can travel 27 feet is air. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading U.S. government infectious disease expert, on Tuesday said the information was misleading.

In a research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, MIT associate professor Lydia Bourouiba warned that the guidelines of social distancing to stay six feet apart were “inadequate and outdated” as the “pathogen-bearing droplets of all sizes can travel 23 to 27 feet.” Bourouiba added that coronavirus can linger in the air for hours.

However, during a White House press briefing Tuesday, Dr. Fauci said the research was “misleading.”

“I’m sorry, but I was disturbed by that report because that’s misleading,” he said.

The doctor noted that a “very, very robust, vigorous, achoo sneeze” was required for the droplets to travel such a distance.

“That’s not practical. That is not practical,” he added.

On Sunday, Fauci offered a gloomy prediction stating that the deadly virus could kill as many as 200,000 Americans.

"I mean, looking at what we're seeing now, you know, I would say between 100 and 200,000 deaths. But I don't want to be held to that," he said, adding that the nation would have "millions of cases."

"Whenever the models come in, they give a worst-case scenario and a best-case scenario. Generally, the reality is somewhere in the middle. I've never seen a model of the diseases that I've dealt with where the worst case actually came out. They always overshoot," he added.

Meanwhile, with coronavirus-related deaths surpassing 3,300 in the United States on Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned of a "very painful" two weeks.

Describing coronavirus as a “plague,” he said, "I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead.”