Trump panned for downplaying threat of virus on phone-in show

DONALD TRUMP has come under fire after appearing to contradict experts on the threat posed by the coronavirus.

The US president rang into the Sean Hannity show on Fox News to give his latest take on the virus which has so far killed 14 people in America.

Seeking to provide reassurance, Mr Trump questioned the 3.4 per cent coronavirus mortality rate cited by the World Health Organisation.

“I think the 3.4 per cent is really a false number – and this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this – because a lot of people will have this and it’s very mild, they’ll get better very rapidly,” he said.

“They don’t even see a doctor. They don’t even call a doctor. You never hear about those people.”

Mr Trump’s comments were criticised by Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director who now runs an investment firm. “The phone call to Fox News, easily a trillion dollars ripped out of the market,” he said.

Speaking yesterday about the call, Mr Trump added: “I said calm, you have to be calm, it’ll go away. Our numbers are lower than just about anybody.” Figures show there are more than 225 cases in 22 states across the US, with Pennsylvania being the latest to announce a coronavirus infection.

Mr Trump yesterday signed an $8.3 billion (£6.4 billion) emergency spending package to tackle the crisis after it received cross-party support.

Last night he visited the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where he sought to reassure Americans the administration had a grip on the crisis as Alex Azar, the health secretary, said four million testing kits would be ready by the end of next week.

Mr Trump said he also supported keeping passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, rather than risking the number of cases increasing.

“I like the numbers where they are right now, I don’t need the numbers to double because of one ship,” he added.