President Donald Trump argued thousands die of the flu and U.S. not closed

'We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. We don't turn the country off,' President Trump told Fox News 

He said he wants country back to normal by Easter, which is April 12

'I'd love to have it open by Easter,' he said 

Earlier he said he can re-open economy while protecting at-risk populations 

'Our people want to return to work,' the president wrote on Twitter 

'They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together,' he added

Medical experts warned strict containment practices still needed 

The World Health Organization warned the US could soon become the new coronavirus epicenter on Tuesday

Over the past 24 hours, 85 percent of new cases worldwide were from Europe and the US, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said  

Asked whether US could become the new epicenter, Harris said: 'We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential'

'They [the US] have a very large outbreak and an outbreak that is increasing in intensity,' she added   

The US coronavirus death toll climbed to 586 on Monday as the total number of cases surpassed 46,400 and fifteen states went into various forms of lock-down