A man walks while wearing a protective face mask is seen as coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 16, 2020 in New York City.

Even if every American is given $1,000 to ride out the coronavirus crisis, it's still going to be difficult for the U.S. economy to stay afloat in the coronavirus crisis, says a former special advisor to the Federal Reserve Board.

Such a move can help individuals to pay the bills, but consumer spending, which makes up around two thirds of economic activity in America, will still take a hit, said Andrew Levin, who is also a professor of economics at Dartmouth College.

"The problem for the U.S. economy is a lot of cities are shutting down, and people staying home, not going out to restaurants, not going out shopping, not buying cars," he told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday.

"I don't see how we're going to avoid having a recession."

The novel coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in late 2019, but the pandemic has escalated in recent weeks, with confirmed cases soaring in Europe and the United States. It has infected more than 168,000 people worldwide and killed at least 6,600.

In the U.S., state and city leaders have taken action in a bid to contain the virus. That includes closing schools, restaurants and banning large public gatherings.