President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after making a number of false claims about coronavirus, attempting to downplay concerns about the deadly virus outbreak.

Trump called in to Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday night where he questioned the World Health Organization, which said Tuesday that the global coronavirus mortality rate is 3.4 percent, much higher than previously thought. By comparison, the seasonal flu typically kills much fewer than 1 percent of those infected.

“I think the 3.4% is really a false number," Trump told Hannity, without citing any evidence. "Now, this is just my hunch 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, they don’t even see a doctor, they don’t even call a doctor -- you never hear about those people, so you can’t put them down in the category of the overall population, in terms of this corona flu, and/or virus. So you just can’t do that.”

The mortality rate is based on confirmed figures from the WHO, which said Wednesday that there are now more than 95,000 cases in more than 80 countries worldwide. Novel coronavirus has killed more than 3,300 people, including 11 in the U.S.; 3,300 out of 95,000 is 3.47 percent.

Trump also suggested that people with coronavirus can “go to work” and get better without any treatment or rest.

“If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better, and then when you do have a death, like you’ve had in the state of Washington, like you had one in California, I believe you had one in New York," Trump said on “Hannity.” No deaths have been reported in New York; 11 cases have been confirmed.

Trump’s comments conflict with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says people should not go to work if they are sick.

“You should restrict activities outside your home, except for getting medical care," the CDC website says. "Do not go to work, school, or public areas. Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis.”

People who have developed symptoms, including a fever and cough or difficulty breathing, or have been in contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or have recently traveled to an area with ongoing spread are urged to contact their local healthcare professionals. In suspected cases, including with no symptoms or fevers, the CDC has required self-quarantines by having people stay in their home for 14 days.

Love him or hate him it doesn't matter please do not listen to him about this. If you get the #caronavirus please follow the CDC guidelines to minimize the spread. Just because you have few symptoms doesn't mean the person you pass it to will be the same, it could kill them. https://t.co/Y4sSP6Cx1o — Eric Garcia (@EricG1247) March 5, 2020

Trump later denied telling people to go to work while they’re sick.

“I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work,” he tweeted Thursday morning. “This is just more Fake News and disinformation put out by the Democrats, in particular MSDNC. Comcast covers the CoronaVirus situation horribly, only looking to do harm to the incredible & successful effort being made!”

Vaccine?

Other misleading claims Trump has made in the past week include suggesting that the U.S. will have a vaccine “soon." There are no proven treatments or “cure” for the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus yet; health officials say a vaccine is likely at least a year away.

Testing has begun on some possible treatments, including an experimental drug named remdesivir, which was developed to fight Ebola, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Trump further raised concerns during a Cabinet Room meeting with pharmaceutical executives and members of the Coronavirus Task Force on Monday. Newsweek reports the president asked whether the normal flu vaccine could be used to treat COVID-19 during the meeting, broadcast live by NBC News.

“You take a solid flu vaccine,” Trump said, “you don’t think that would have an impact, or much of an impact, on corona?”

“No,” Tony Fauci, the director of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Disease, said. “Probably not."

Obama to blame?

Trump claimed without evidence that former President Barack Obama is to blame for a slow response in testing for coronavirus in the U.S. The New York Post reports the president said he fixed an “Obama rule” during a meeting Wednesday with airline executives.

“That was a very big move,” Trump said. “It was something we had to do and we did it very quickly. And now we have tremendous flexibility, many many more sites, many many more people, and you couldn’t have had that under the Obama rule and we ended that rule very quickly.”

An aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, told CNN that the Obama administration made no such rule change. The Obama administration did propose giving the FDA more oversight over approving diagnostic tests in 2014, but the measure did not go through.

“We aren’t sure what rule is being referenced," added Peter Kyriacopolous, chief policy officer at the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Spokespeople for the White House and Vice President Mike Pence, the president’s point person for coronavirus, did not provide additional information on the alleged regulation change, according tot he Post.