'US Isn't Built to Be Shut Down': Trump Signals Plans to Reopen Economy Early Amid COVID-19 Crisis

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said the country’s economy, affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, might reopen sooner than in three to four months.

"America will again and soon be open for business. Very soon. A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. A lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself," Trump said at a press conference on Monday. “Our country wasn’t built to be shut down. This is not a country that was built for this.”

The decision on the timing of reopening of the US economy will be made in 15 days, the president said.

He added that at the point when the coronavirus hit the United States, it was at the strongest financial point, and the government will not let the "medical problem" crisis to go beyond that.

"We are not going to let it turn into a long-lasting financial problem," he said. "We're fixing it quickly… Our country will be stronger than ever before."

Trump also said they are not really considering a new round of travel bans.

According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 43,214 people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States, while 533 people have died.