Trump looks to reopen country in weeks, not months

President Donald Trump sought Monday to reassure the public that the American economy will not be stalled for long due to the coronavirus outbreak. He said the negative consequences of keeping businesses closed for extended periods of time would outweigh the benefit of slowing the spread of COVID-19. "People get tremendous anxiety and depression and you have suicides over things like this when you have terrible economies," he said.

Speaking at a White House briefing with members of his Coronavirus Task Force, Trump said the virus outbreak has been "an incredible learning process" for Americans on how to avoid spreading it. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.