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He added in questioning later that \"from the beginning, it was not set up to do that.\"

\"The system was geared for individual doctor and patient. What we're going through now transcends that.\"

Fauci also said people should look to the U.S. Capitol cancelling public tours as a model example of what to do -- avoid large gatherings.

\"We've got to act like there's going to be a problem,\" he added.

On Wednesday, Fauci told the same committee, \"Bottom line, it's going to get worse,\" adding that the U.S. will certainly see more cases and how much worse it gets depends on the ability to contain those infected.

Demand for respirators could grow to 1 billion in 6 months

Robert Kadlec, a senior Health and Human Services official, again referenced the limited supply of respirators in U.S. stockpile, this time giving new numbers on how many respirators, or specialized face masks, are needed.

Kadlec said annually about 350M respirators are used, with 35M used by the health care industry.

\"We believe the demand could be several hundred million to up to a billion in a six-month period. It’s a very high demand item,\" Kadlec told the House Oversight Committee Thursday.

This estimate is significantly higher than what HHS has said before. On March 4, HHS put the goal at buying 500 million N95 respirators.

He reiterated that there is a concern of shortages in part because of many of the materials are from overseas.

One thing the government is doing is making clear that masks used for other industries -- in coal mines, for example -- will be allowed for use by health care workers.

House to vote on coronavirus economic relief

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote later in the day on an economic stimulus package in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, saying she can agree to most changes proposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- the administration's point man in negotiations.

“We’re addressing the realities of life, a family life in America, putting family first,” Pelosi said. “We're not planning a schedule or anything else, until we get that -- until we get that done.”Having Mnuchin's stamp of approval, she expressed optimism that the House will pass the bill and indicated she’d release members to go home for the 10-day recess after the package heads to the Senate.

House Democrats released text of a bill late Wednesday night, including food assistance, paid sick leave, emergency unemployment insurance and language to ensure the cost of testing is covered for anyone who needs a test. The package does not include a payroll tax cut, which Trump has repeatedly asked Congress to include.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted McConnell's decision which, in effect, allows senators to travel for the weekend and return to Washington next week, instead of working through the weekend.

“The Speaker is still negotiating with [Secretary] Mnuchin. The House hasn’t even sent a bill over and Leader McConnell sends everybody home during a crisis. That is so wrong,” Schumer told reporters Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps, Trish Turner and John Parkinson contributed to this report.

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