President Trump warns that there will be “suicides by the thousands” if the entire U.S. economy remains shut down for too long.

“We have to put the country to work,” he said from the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday. “You are going to lose a number of people to the flu, but you are going to lose more people by putting the country in a massive recession or depression.”

“You are going to lose people. You are going to have suicides by the thousands,” he continued. “You can’t just come in and say, ‘Let’s close up the United States of America.'”

“We can do much of what we’re doing and we can do it from a work environment instead of an environment where everybody’s locked up and everybody is saying, ‘Oh, the business is gone, the business is gone,’ and everybody’s suffering depression,” Trump said.

Trump on March 16 laid out a 15-day plan, which including reducing the number of people in gatherings and closing schools and restaurants. On Tuesday, he said he “would love to have the country opened up, and just raring to go, by Easter,” which is April 12.

Calls to a National Suicide Prevention Hotline call center have risen 300% as Americans struggle with isolation and anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic, KVLY reports.

Other suicide prevention services across the United States also have seen spikes in calls since the COVID-19 virus threw everyday life askew for millions.​​​​​

“It’s so scary, it’s almost like … I would rather be dead,” says Danielle Sinay, a writer in New York City with a history of suicidal thoughts, USA Today reports. “I mean, I wouldn’t be, but sometimes I get so scared it feels like that.”

“There are ramifications, sometimes fatal, with events like these that are not just related to getting infected or dying from infection or consequences of infection,” said Eric Caine, co-director of the Center for the Study of Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center, USA Today reported.

The national Crisis Text Line handled 6,000 text conversations last week, about twice the regular call load, spokeswoman Ashley Womble told The Boston Globe.

In Portland, Oregon, suicide-related 911 calls rose 23% in the the last 10 days, The Oregonian reported.

The Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC) has also warned about the effects of isolation and anxiety. “The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be stressful for people,” the CDC said. “Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.”

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