U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hope on Sunday that the country was seeing a "leveling-off" of the coronavirus crisis in some of the nation's hot spots, saying Americans were starting to see "the light at the end of the tunnel."

New York, the hardest-hit state, reported on Sunday that for the first time in a week, deaths had fallen slightly from the day before.

But there were nearly 600 new deaths for a total of 4,159 among 122,000 confirmed cases of the disease. Across the United States, over 321,000 people have tested positive and more than 9,100 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

"Maybe that's a good sign," Trump told reporters at a White House briefing, referring to the drop in fatalities in New York.

By calling the virus a monster that needed to be stopped, Trump said the U.S. has tested and received results for 1.67 million Americans.

"In the days ahead America will endure the peak of this terrible pandemic. Our warriors in this life and death battle are the incredible doctors and nurses and health care workers on the frontline of the fight."

Meanwhile, the U.S. surgeon general warned the country faces a critical week in the crisis, saying "this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly."

When was asked whether it is a contradiction that the president saying "seeing the light at the end of tunnel" and doctors warning of "the hardest week", Dr. Anthony Fauci, who spoke alongside Trump, explained that the bad week is a reflection of two and half weeks ago, referring to the virus' two-and-half-week lag. 

"It isn't contradictory to say this is going to be a bad week and there's light at the end of the tunnel. This being a bad week is a reflection of what happened 2.5 weeks ago; if we now see a flattening of cases, doesn't take away the fact that this'll be a bad week," he said.

The country's top infectious-diseases expert also repeated the importance of mitigation measures, saying "the only tool but the best tool we have is mitigation." He added that the country's guidance to mitigate the spread of the virus is the minimum of what Americans should be doing.

Most states have ordered residents to stay home except for essential trips to slow the spread of the virus, but a few governors still resisted issuing stay-at-home orders and a handful of churches held large Palm Sunday services.

On Sunday, Trump approved disaster declaration of five states including Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota and Delaware, and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas.

Rapid testing in New York

White House medical experts have forecast that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die in the pandemic, even if sweeping orders to stay home are followed.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that new hospitalizations had fallen by 50 percent over the previous 24 hours, but he cautioned it was not yet clear whether the crisis was reaching a plateau in the state, which has 4,159 deaths and more than 122,000 cases.

Cuomo said he believed there needed to be a mass rollout of rapid testing in order to achieve a "return to normalcy" after the peak of the novel coronavirus crisis passes in the United States in the coming weeks and months.

The governor said New York was part of an effort to develop a program that would identify people who are both negative and not in a vulnerable category, allowing them to go back to work.

"I think you see the return to normalcy when we have an approved rapid testing program that can be brought to scale, Cuomo told a daily briefing on the coronavirus response. "That is going to be the answer, I believe."

Speaking to reporters at the WH briefing room, Trump said he had spoken with Cuomo and the federal government is working hard to get additional resources to help with the coronavirus fight.

The federal government will deliver 600,000 N95 masks to New York City and another 200,000 to Suffolk country in New York, Trump said. He added that 1,000 military personnel are deploying to NYC.

Trump stressed that "we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

'We have to open our country up'

In the meantime, the president told reporters that the U.S. must open again and Americans want to return to work.

When was asked why the government does not shut everything and still leaves a few businesses open, Trump said: "All I can say is that right now things are looking really good and opening up with a bang will be a great thing. 

"We have to open our country up. Our country has the greatest economic boom in history." 

A term for what has happened to the economy is "cold turkey," he continued. "This country is not designed for that. I hope it can come back quickly."

Trump also said the federal government has bought a "tremendous amount" of hydroxychloroquine, referring to a drug that has not been FDA-approved but only given a limited emergency use authorization, and there are "strong signs" it works on the coronavirus. 

Asked why not just let the science speaks about whether the drug works, Trump said, "I want them to try it. And it may work and it may not work. And if it doesn't work...nothing lost by doing it." "It may not work. In which case: hey, it didn't work."

He continued, "What do I know, I'm not a doctor...but I have common sense...as you know, they've approved it...they gave it a rapid approval." 

When was asked by a CNN reporter about his touting of hydroxychloroquine, Trump concludes his response by saying, "Only CNN would ask that question. Fake news."

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Dr. Deborah Birx (not pictured), a White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House, April 5, 2020, in Washington. /AP)