GREAT DEPRESSION: Stephen Moore warns what could happen if US economy remains shut down past May 1

Famed economist Stephen Moore says there will be dire consequences if the American economy is not reopened within weeks.

Speaking with host John Catsimatidis on his radio show Sunday, Moore predicted the United States will fall into another Great Depression if the economy remains shut down beyond May 1.

"At some point soon, we're going to have to make some real decisions about what kind of a calamity we are causing through the lockdown of our economy," Moore explained, the New York Post reported. "I'm not saying we should be inattentive to the public health concern… But at some point, we have to worry about what we're doing to our society, and what kind of economy we're going to have after this is all over."

"If we go much past May 1, we are facing a potential Great Depression scenario," Moore said.

With the U.S. economy at a virtual standstill over the COVID-19 outbreak, an unprecedented 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks. Some financial experts believe the American unemployment rate could reach 30% during the crisis.

The unemployment rate reached 24.9% in 1933 during the Great Depression.

The prospect of profound economic impacts has spurred President Donald Trump to ensure the cure is not worse than the problem.

Over the weekend, the president indicated support for the creation of a second White House coronavirus task force dedicated to reopening the U.S. economy while continuing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.