Pedestrians walk on the usually busy Peel Street, popular for its restaurants and bars in Hong Kong on March 23. Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

Days after most Americans began life on lockdown, President Donald Trump has already said he wants the nation "opened up and just raring to go" by April 12.

That's just over two weeks away, and most doctors believe far too early for a return to normal, risking another wave of coronavirus infections that could quickly spiral out of control. But Trump, along with many prominent US conservatives, is concerned about the effects on the economy -- particularly the markets -- should people be away from work for too long.

Other governments have tackled with this issue already, with authorities across China moving to bail out affected businesses and provide payments to people living on lockdown, making it easier for them to stay at home and help rein in the outbreak.

Hong Kong, one of the first places outside mainland China to see infections, also provides a model for what happens when you go back to work too soon.

This week, the city sent civil servants back home after they returned to their offices around the start of the month. Numbers had been stable in Hong Kong when that decision was made, but imported infections combined with a lack of social distancing soon led to a new wave of local cases.

That experience should cause alarm for anyone advocating a quick return to work in the US. New York City alone has 50 times the number of confirmed cases as Hong Kong, even after the new wave of infections. Cities in the US are also far less able to control transport in and out, or even keep track of imported infections until they show up at hospitals.

Trump and his backers in conservative media may be concerned what happens to the stock market if workers are at home for too long, but there's no reason to suppose the line will go up if they're in hospitals or morgues instead. As Hong Kong has shown, fighting the coronavirus is a long game, and you can't rush it.