Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned that 'America will end as we know it' unless President Trump immediately shuts down the entire country for 30 days.

Hedge fund manager Ackman made the dismal predictions in a Twitter post Wednesday and in an interview with CNBC, in which he urged President Trump and other global leaders to 'shut the world for 30 days'.

He said urgent action is needed now if the economy is to survive and if lives are to be spared amid the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic.

The 'gradual roll-out' of closures and measures being taken now are not enough to stop the crisis which is already bankrupting the economy, starting with hotels and restaurants, he said.

Ackman made the somber prediction that 'hell is coming' and warned that the US as we now know it is ending.

'America will end as we know it. I'm sorry to say so, unless we take this option,' he said in an interview with CNBC Tuesday afternoon.

'Hell is coming,' he warned.

The 'only answer for the world is to shut the world for 30 days,' he told CNBC.

'We have an invisible, silent, deadly enemy. How do we kill it? Everyone just goes home.'

The stark warning followed his desperate bid to President Trump earlier on Wednesday to shut the US down with an extended Spring Break holiday, saying it is the 'only answer' to spare the nation from economic catastrophe.

'Mr. President, the only answer is to shut down the country for the next 30 days and close the borders. Tell all Americans that you are putting us on an extended Spring Break at home with family. Keep only essential services open. The government pays wages until we reopen,' Ackman said in a Twitter post Wednesday morning.



'No one defaults, no one forecloses. A 30-day rent, interest and tax holiday for all. The shutdown is inevitable as it is already happening, but not in a controlled fashion which is extending the economic pain and amplifying the spread of the virus.'

The CEO of Pershing Square Capital warned that each day the US stays open the economy will take a hit and many lives are thrown into jeopardy.

'With exponential compounding, every day we postpone the shutdown costs thousands, and soon hundreds of thousands, and then millions of lives, and destroys the economy,' he tweeted.

'Please send everyone home now. With your leadership, we can end this now. The rest of the world will follow your lead. A global Spring Break will save us all.'

However, experts have warned that even a temporary shutdown will not go far enough to stopping the spread of the virus.

Researchers at Imperial College London say that social distancing of the entire US population, isolation of anyone infected with coronavirus and quarantines for their household members may be the only way to stem the pandemic - and that these measures may need to be in place for as long as 18 months.

The study, published Monday, also warns that if the population doesn't go into isolation, 1.1 million and 1.2 million Americans will likely die of coronavirus.