Economic activity has been put on the metaphorical back burner throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, and unfortunately, it seems that it won't be taken off anytime soon.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there will be a "graduated" return to normal economic activity in Canada.

However, that could take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there will be a 'graduated' return to normal economic activity: 'We will have to be vigilant for a year or a year-and-a-half. There will be things we won't be able to do.'

— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) April 9, 2020

Trudeau did not give exact details on whether schools or businesses will have to remain closed entirely, but he reiterated that a lot depends on whether Canadians obey the physical distancing measures.

Trudeau does not answer directly schools and businesses might have to remain closed for another 12-18 months away. Says many measures will be able to be relaxed, and some won't be, but he doesn't specify which. Repeats that a lot depends on how we act now.

— Tonda MacCharles (@TondaMacC) April 9, 2020

The timeline depends primarily on the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Health officials are predicting that the first wave of the pandemic could last until the summer, but the government is preparing for "resurgences" of the virus after that.

Fortunately, the government believes that the successive outbreaks will be smaller, given that Canadians will be more willing to respect physical distancing rules — and some economic recovery will be possible.

But he says he believes following waves will be less intense because Cdns will respect social distancing rules. When we're through the first wave, we'll be able to put some measures aside, to allow a certain economic recovery.

— Tonda MacCharles (@TondaMacC) April 9, 2020

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland echoed Trudeau's words on Thursday, saying that she's uncertain how long it will take before Canadians can return to work.

She said that it's the government's duty to support the economy for as long as necessary.

Freeland: we will protect Canada's economic capacity and we must protect Canadians' lives.

— Catherine Cullen (@cath_cullen) April 9, 2020

Canada's latest modelling reveals that if strict physical distancing measures are heeded, the country could see between 11,000 t0 22,000 fatalities — down from 300,000 fatalities if there were no controls in place.

So even though it may be frustrating to watch economic activity slow down, it's important to remember that physical distancing won't just prevent the disease from spreading — it will save hundreds of thousands of lives.