Despite health experts warning that there is still too little diagnostic testing, the states in the US prepare to ease the coronavirus restrictions on the US commerce this week.  

Many merchants have voiced ambivalence about returning to work absent the prerequisite public health measures authorities have advocated.

"I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not. They're saying, 'Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,'" Royal Rose, 39, owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado, told Reuters.

Public health authorities say increasing human interactions and economic activity now - without the means to do so safely - will only backfire, sparking a new surge of infections just as social-distancing measures appear to be bringing coronavirus outbreaks under control.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters on Sunday the jobless rate would likely hit 16 per cent or more in April.

"I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible," Hassett said. "You're going to see numbers as bad as anything we've ever seen before."