Watch: Nobel economist explains why testing is crucial in getting the American economy back on track again

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer told CNN's John Berman on Thursday that there is absolutely no reason that the United States cannot produce a sufficient number of COVID-19 testing kits needed to safely reopen the American economy.

While appearing on CNN, Romer explained the need to develop a mass testing program for the country as a key measure to control the disease.

"We need to test everybody because then everybody will have the information they need to be safe," he said. "Am I at risk of infecting my children or my colleagues? Are my colleagues at risk of infecting me? If we knew who was infected, then we take the protections to stop the spread of the virus."

Romer then challenged President Donald Trump's assertion that we can't manufacture enough tests to handle the crisis.

"I personally am advocating for 30 million tests a day, not a week," he said. "Let's think about whether that's feasible. This nation produces 350 million cans of soda every day. If we can produce 350 million cans worth of soda a day, we can produce 30 million tests a day."

Watch the video below.