Economic writer and analyst Stephen Moore Stephen MooreSunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Economist Moore calls on Pelosi, Schumer to 'get a deal done' amid stimulus stalemate Trump payroll-tax deferral for federal workers sparks backlash MORE, whom President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE once considered for a spot on the Federal Reserve Board, said that the outbreak of the coronavirus has “substantially” hurt China's economy.

“We’re all concerned about this virus," Moore told radio host John Catsimatidis on his show Sunday morning.

"It has already hurt the Chinese economy very substantially. Let’s hope and pray this virus is contained. People are spooked by it right now. And investors are spooked. And it certainly has hurt global commerce over the last week or two.”

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Moore's comments come as the stock market on Friday ended the week with steep losses. Stocks began to dip after the Trump administration declared the coronavirus a public health emergency and major airlines — both domestic and international — suspended flights to China.

The Dow Jones industrial Average lost 603 points, and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.8 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.6 percentage points.

The Trump administration's public health emergency restricts travel to and from China. Aside from the immediate family of U.S. citizens, Chinese nationals who traveled to China in the past two weeks will be denied entry into the country.

Moore is not the only official who has predicted a loss for China's economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday also underscored the anxiety around the disruption of economic growth that the virus and the subsequent efforts to contain it might have on east Asia.

"There is likely to be some disruption to activity in China and possibly globally based on the spread of the virus today and the travel restrictions and business closures that have already been imposed," Powell said.

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“There will clearly be implications, at least in the near term, for Chinese output, and I guess for some of their closest neighbors, and we'll just have to see what the effect is globally," he continued.

The virus, which has killed over 250 people worldwide as of Saturday, originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Beijing has quarantined Wuhan along with 16 other cities, locking down an estimated 50 million people. The containment is believed to be the largest quarantine in modern history.

With over 12,000 reported cases of the virus worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled the outbreak as a global health emergency.

John Catsimatidis is an investor in The Hill.

--This report was updated at 7:44 a.m.