President Donald Trump hinted in a tweet late Sunday at a major shift in the US coronavirus policy.

"WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF," Trump tweeted. "AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!"

In a White House briefing on March 16, Trump set out social-distancing measures he said Americans should observe for 15 days to slow the spread of the disease.

The restrictions have devastated the US economy, with Americans urged to avoid bars, shops, and restaurants and to halt nonessential travel — yet the prospect of easing restrictions has alarmed some experts.

Vice President Mike Pence has said the restrictions on some Americans could be eased soon.

The novel coronavirus is still spreading rapidly in the US, where there have been more than 35,000 confirmed cases.

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President Donald Trump in a tweet on Sunday hinted at a major shift in US policy on combatting the novel coronavirus, writing, "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF."

In the all-caps tweet near midnight, Trump continued to say, "AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!"

The period Trump seemed to refer to began March 16, when in a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House the president announced "new guidelines for every American to follow over the next 15 days as we combat the virus." That period ends March 31.

The social-distancing guidelines urged Americans to work from home whenever possible and avoid social gatherings and trips to bars and restaurants as part of a series of measures to slow the spread of the disease.

They are much less severe than those in other countries with comparable outbreaks, though some cities and states have gone further on their own initiative.

An empty intersection in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 15. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

As the US economy plummets, with mass layoffs and businesses across the country closed until further notice, it seems patience in the White House is wearing thin.

Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the president's thinking, reported Monday that Trump last week had considered slackening some of the restrictions.

Among those backing Trump is Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, according to the report, while the US's top infectious-disease expert, Anthony Fauci, believes that keeping the measures in place is the only way to defeat the virus.

Earlier Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White House's coronavirus task force, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would soon announce that people exposed to the virus could be allowed to return to work sooner than the previously recommended self-isolation period if they wore a mask.

Yamiche Alcindor, PBS News' White House correspondent, tweeted that the ease-up on the restrictions would be announced Monday.

Gary Cohn, the former director of the White House National Economic Council under Trump, tweeted Sunday that businesses needed a clear time frame for how long the measures would last.

"Is it time to start discussing the need for a date when the economy can turn back on?" he wrote. "Policymakers have taken bold public health & economic actions to address the #coronavirus, but businesses need clarity. Otherwise they will assume the worst and make decisions to survive."

The economic forecasts make for grim reading, with JPMorgan predicting a 14% second-quarter slump, the biggest in US history.

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board on Thursday wrote that "federal and state officials need to start adjusting their anti-virus strategy now to avoid an economic recession that will dwarf the harm from 2008-2009."

The prospect of easing restrictions has alarmed some experts. Public-health officials have refused to put a timeline on how long the restrictions could last, with Fauci in an interview last week saying it could be "several weeks."

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected late last year, is just beginning to slacken its harsh lockdown rules after two months. European countries are also preparing for a long period of restrictions after implementing harsh lockdowns in the past two weeks.

The latest figures from sources including Johns Hopkins University show coronavirus infections in the US continuing to rise sharply, with 34,354 recorded in the US and 414 deaths as of early Monday.

The lack of widespread testing in the early days of the outbreak means the full number of people infected in the US is probably higher.

"Sadly, the numbers now suggest the U.S. is poised to take the lead in #coronavirus cases," Tom Bossert, a former Department of Homeland Security adviser, tweeted on Monday. "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!"