Washington, May 2 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump allowed federal guidelines on social distancing aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus to expire on Friday, as at least 31 states are set to reopen at least some nonessential businesses over the next few days. 

This comes as the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 233,000.  The official U.S. death toll has passed 63,000, though that figure does not include most people who died of COVID-19 outside of hospitals or who died of the disease but were not tested. 

Scientists say data on excess deaths in the United States over the past several weeks suggest tens of thousands more have died than the official tally.  

At the White House, Trump sought to downplay the U.S. toll — which is the highest in the world.  He said: "Our death totals, our numbers — per million people — are really very, very strong.  We’re very proud of the job we’ve done.”