COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Donald Trump is eager to get America back to work, with talk of being back in business by Easter.

Here in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine says health is our top priority.

“We save our economy by first saving lives. And we have to do it, and we have to do it in that order. When people are dying, when people don’t feel safe, this economy is not going to come back,” said DeWine.

Health Director Dr. Amy Acton says ignoring this surge of cases for the sake of economic recovery could spell out deadly consequences.

“In a worst case scenario, in which we had done nothing in Ohio, and we’re doing everything, but they anticipate that we could see up to six thousand new cases a day if we don’t abide by what we’re doing,” Acton said.

Even with the tough measures the state has taken, the number of confirmed cases and deaths will continue to grow.

Acton said we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of illness.

DeWine says he understands the financial strain of being out of work, but that it’s a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.

"I think about those of you who are unemployed, I think about the small businesses. I know from family background and small businesses, that each day that goes by and you don’t have income, each day that goes by you can’t move forward, what we have done, we have done, as we said, to protect lives,” said DeWine.

Earlier this week, President Trump instructed all states to withhold unemployment numbers during this crisis.

Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted says for the sake of transparency, he will refrain from releasing the daily numbers, but will give weekly updates on unemployment every Thursday.