Trump says US has made 'Tremendous' progress on COVID-19 therapeutics

"We have made tremendous progress on therapeutics," Trump said on Monday.

Trump said two companies have been approved to develop a vaccine and ten trials are underway.

Moreover, Trump said his administration is allowing the navy hospital ship Comfort in New York City to be used to treat COVID-19 patients from the states of New York and New Jersey.

During the same White House coronavirus task force briefing, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said early indications that the number of reported COVID-19 cases in New York is leveling off is a sign that mitigation measures are working.

US Vice President Mike Pence `stressed the need for the US public to continue mitigation efforts for the remaining month of April despite early signs of improvement.

In addition, Trump said his administration reached a deal with the company 3M to produce 55.5 million more face masks each month for US health care workers.

Last week, Trump lashed out at 3M for honoring its exports contracts at the expense of the needs in the United States and threatened to invoke Defense Production Act against the company.

Trump also said he had a "warm" and "friendly" conversation with his Democratic rival Joe Biden about the novel coronavirus outbreak. Trump did not give any specifics about the 15-minute telephone call but said the former vice president gave his perspective on the crisis.

The United States has more than 366,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases with more than 10,700 deaths due to the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.