Peter Navarro cautions if the economy remains shut down the health effects over time could be worse than those caused from the virus.

The president’s trade adviser, who is in charge of the country’s medical supply chain, warned that a prolonged economic shutdown could lead to more negative health effects than the virus itself. 

"It’s disappointing that so many of the medical experts and pundits pontificating in the press appear tone-deaf to the very significant losses of life and blows to American families that may result from an extended economic shutdown,” Navarro said in an interview with The New York Times.

“Instead, they piously preen on their soap boxes speaking only half of the medical truth without reference or regard for the other half of the equation,” he told the newspaper, “which is the very real mortal dangers associated with the closure of the economy for an extended period.”

Navarro was one of the first to wave warning flags about the economic costs of a global pandemic. In January and February, Navarro issued memos raising concerns that the coronavirus could cost trillions of dollars and infect millions of Americans.

Navarro said the U.S. economy is facing a “China shock” situation similar to one that happened after China entered the World Trade Organization in the early 2000s. The move caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and led to an increase in “suicide, drug overdoses, alcohol poisoning, liver disease, lung cancer, poor diet and cigarettes,” he said. 

He said the "China trade shock" killed "tens of thousands of Americans."

“This new China virus shock threatens similar mortal dangers and threats to the American family that may be magnitudes larger than those triggered by the China trade shock,” Navarro said. 

• Navarro's Memos Warned of Millions of Deaths, $6 Trillion in Costs
• Trump: It's My Decision When to Reopen US Economy