Donald Trump’s coronavirus coordinator Dr Deborah Birx appeared stunned as she watched the US president describe how coronavirus could be treated using ultraviolet light and disinfectant during a daily White House news briefing.

His comments have been criticised by medical experts overnight, as ultraviolet light exposure can damage the skin and eyes, whilst disinfectants are hazardous substances that should not be consumed.

William Bryan, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, had earlier outlined research which suggested the coronavirus was weakened when exposed to strong sunlight and disinfectant.

Mr Trump turned to Dr Birx, his White House coronavirus response coordinator, for clarification but she appeared bewildered at the president’s comments on Thursday night.

“So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous – whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light,” said the president, “and I think you said that hasn’t been checked but you’re going to test it.

“And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting,” the president continued.

Cameras caught Dr. Birx taking a deep breath as Mr Trump discussed how disinfectant could ‘clean away’ the coronavirus.

“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?

“So it’d be interesting to check that.”

Mr Trump, pointing to his head, then admitted: “I’m not a doctor. But I’m, like, a person that has a good you-know-what.”

Dr. Birx added that she had not heard about heat and the light as a treatment against the coronavirus, and said: “I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing, when you have a fever it helps your body respond. But I’ve not seen heat or light.”

“I think it’s a great thing to look at,” Mr Trump said.

Doctors have criticised the US president’s comments and warned they are dangerous.

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“This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it’s dangerous,” pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta told NBC News.

“It’s a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.”