Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday that it is possible it will take “a few months” before life goes “back to normal” amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“Can you try to help us understand, when will life get back to normal?” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Fauci on "This Week."

“It’s going to be a matter of several weeks to a few months, for sure,” Fauci responded.

ADVERTISEMENT

“If you look at the dynamics of how outbreak curves go, you just need to take a look at China and take a look at South Korea right now,” the health official added. “With China, they went to their peak, and they’re coming down right now. There were, just a day or so ago, 11 new cases in China, which is miniscule compared to where it was.”

NEW: “It’s going to be a matter of several weeks to a few months for sure,” Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @jonkarl when asked when life will get “back to normal” amid coronavirus threat. https://t.co/ECB1HZkgNi pic.twitter.com/z95VqZiN7j — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 15, 2020

South Korea, meanwhile, is “starting to flatten,” Fauci said, adding that the change in the trend occurred over about a month and a half in both countries.

“Although you can’t predict accurately, the way you interfere with that and not only diminish the peak of the curve but even perhaps the duration depends on the effectiveness in which you do the kinds of controls that we’ve been talking about, the containment and the mitigation,” he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Asked if he is "confident that the federal government is doing everything that needs to be done right now to contain this," Fauci responded, “Right now, Jon, yes. Absolutely.”

NEW: @jonkarl: “Are you confident that the federal government is doing everything that needs to be done right now to contain this?”



“Right now, Jon, yes. Absolutely,” Dr. Anthony Fauci says on federal response to coronavirus threat. https://t.co/YJ2h02tqtA pic.twitter.com/uaByintRuB — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 15, 2020

Public health officials have urged “social distancing” to contain the spread of the virus in the U.S., while numerous cities and states have imposed restrictions on large gatherings.