The World Health Organization has warned the US could become the new epicentre of the global coronavirus pandemic, while President Donald Trump insists he wants the country's lockdown relaxed by mid-April.
“We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential [to become the centre of the pandemic],” said Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman.
In the US, 46,450 people have become infected and there have been 593 deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. The WHO said cases were quickly rising in the country.
But Mr Trump said keeping harsh lockdown measures in place could "destroy" the country.
"A lot of people agree with me. Our country - it's not built to shut down," he said on Fox News. "You can destroy a country this way by closing it down."
"I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter," Mr Trump said. Easter is on April 12.
Social distancing and quarantine measures have been instituted across much of the United States, bringing the world's biggest economy to an abrupt halt.
Health experts have advised the measures are the only way to prevent the easily transmitted, potentially fatal illness from multiplying uncontrollably.
In the chat show format interview with Fox at the White House, Mr Trump made it clear that he thinks the shutdown has been an overreaction.
"We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. We don't turn the country off," he argued.
"We lose much more than that to automobile accidents. We didn't call up the automobile companies to say, 'Stop making cars. We don't want any cars anymore,'" he said.
With his November reelection campaign also on hold, Mr Trump is eager to get back into the fray. One of his main claims to a second term, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, was the strong economy and low unemployment.
"We can't lose a Boeing, we can't lose some of these companies," he said. "If we lose those companies we're talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs, millions of jobs."
The streets of New York City are near-deserted during lockdown. Source: AAP
'At least several months'
But Pentagon officials on Tuesday said they assumed the coronavirus epidemic in the US would last at least several months.
"I think we need to plan for this to be a few months long at least," US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, judging from the experience of countries like China, South Korea and Hong Kong.
General Mark Milley said all indications are that the US is looking at "eight to 10, maybe 12 weeks, something like three months".
"That may or may not apply to the United States. It may or may not apply to all the different countries, different circumstances. But we'll see," he said.
"If it does apply, you're looking at probably late May, June, something in that range. Maybe it could be as late as July, something like that. But we will get through it," he added.
Australians must stay at least 1.5 metres away from other people. Indoors, there must be a density of no more than one person per four square metres of floor space.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor, don’t visit, or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
