Three former top advisers to President Donald Trump warned against attempting to boost the U.S. economy by relaxing social distancing measures aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump has signaled in recent days that he’s already weary of restrictions that have brought parts of the economy to a standstill.

“We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself,” the president tweeted in all-caps Sunday. On Monday, he said the U.S. will “soon be open for business, very soon, a lot sooner than three or four months, as somebody was suggesting.”

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, former Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon all countered Trump’s notion.

Gottlieb, who led the FDA for two years until 2019, argued in a lengthy Twitter thread late Monday that “it should not be lost on anyone that there’s no such thing as a functioning economy and society so long as COVID-19 continues to spread uncontrolled in our biggest cities.”

“So long as COVID-19 spreads uncontrolled, older people will die in historic numbers, middle aged folks doomed to prolonged ICU stays to fight for their lives, hospitals will be overwhelmed, and most Americans terrified to leave homes, eat out, take the subway, or go to the park,” he explained.

“There are two ways to end this. Let a vast swath of people catch COVID which is unthinkable, or break the epidemic,” he noted. “We must choose the latter.”

Check out Gottlieb’s full thread here:

THREAD: There’s a strong and understandable desire to return to better times and a functioning economy. But it should not be lost on anyone that there's no such thing as a functioning economy and society so long as covid-19 continues to spread uncontrolled in our biggest cities. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

So long as covid-19 spreads uncontrolled, older people will die in historic numbers, middle aged folks doomed to prolonged ICU stays to fight for their lives, hospitals will be overwhelmed, and most Americans terrified to leave homes, eat out, take the subway, or go to the park. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

The only way to return to a stable economy and restore our liberty, is to end epidemic spread of covid-19. We need a massive effort to offset the hardship of these efforts, and the public health costs they impose, as there are more than economic costs to the measures we're taking — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

But there's no functioning healthcare with hospitals overwhelmed, no return to work with people terrified of a virus raging uncontrolled. There are two ways to end this. Let a vast swath of people catch covid which is unthinkable, or break the epidemic. We must choose the latter — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

This pathogen brought China to a standstill, with perhaps greater lethality than Spanish Flu. Many middle-aged people are suffering long stays in ICU and survive only after weeks of critical care. Make no mistake about it, this pathogen spares nobody, except thankfully the young. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

There's no easy return. We must accept a sober truth. This pathogen has altered history and changed our world. But it caught us at a time when we have the public health tools, technology, and know how to defeat it quickly and vanquish it for good. We must stay on the battlefield. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020

Bossert, who resigned from his homeland security role in the Trump White House in 2018, predicted in a tweet that the U.S. would “top the list of countries with the most cases in approximately 1 week,” arguing “this does NOT make social intervention futile. It makes it imperative!”

Sadly, the numbers now suggest the U.S. is poised to take the lead in #coronavirus cases. It’s reasonable to plan for the US to top the list of countries with the most cases in approximately 1 week. This does NOT make social intervention futile. It makes it imperative! — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

In a later thread, Bossert acknowledged “the economic impacts of social distancing are very difficult” as he laid out the “sound” concept of the strategy:

Stay firm on #coronavirus



The economic impacts of social distancing are very difficult, to say the least. Understanding the alternative is instructive. Truly understanding being key. Also, explaining the concept of the strategy is important. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

The strategy was developed carefully in 2005-2007. It considered economic and social costs and contemplated a targeted, layered mitigation approach that would be implemented in a staggered fashion where and when needed. That was the initial conception, and it remains sound. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

In this outbreak, the time it took to recognize the threat, coupled with the lack of testing and therefore large scale case ascertainment, left us collectively with no other choice but to issue nationwide, blanket guidance for simultaneous implementation of NPI. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

Accepting an unmitigated spread was not a credible or even practical option. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

So, the question now is twofold, can we stick to our guns when the going gets tough, and can we manage a staggered deescalation with more aggressive containment in hot spots and a looser, but highly monitored return to business in cool spots with careful, nuanced messaging? — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

In hot spots, the containment effort ahead will require different testing, isolation, and quarantine standards in highly seeded areas. The deescalation and slow return effort will require serious contact tracing, testing capacity, and ideally a serological blood test. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

Remember, there are no assumptions without risk. The reason Wuhan alternated its approach (tight, loose, tight, loose) and tested during loosening was to control against second waves and uninformed, premature re-entry. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

That said, this is a balance. We must release the clamp on our economy, objectively speaking. The trick will be doing it carefully and in different degrees depending on the locality. — Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 23, 2020

Former White House chief strategist Bannon, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo the Trump administration should “go full hammer on the virus right now with a full shutdown” and then use a multitrillion-dollar stimulus to blunt the economic crisis.

“It’s going to blow up our balance sheet,” Bannon added. “But we have to get through this.”

Check out the interview here: