Fox News host Tucker Carlson has criticised infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci over his national recommendations to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Mr Carlson used time on his show on Friday evening to release a diatribe against the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and his suggestion of a nationwide lockdown.

"More than 10 million Americans have already lost their jobs," Mr Carlson said. "Imagine another year of this. That would be national suicide, and yet, that is what Anthony Fauci is suggesting, at least."

The criticism from Mr Carlson comes after Dr Fauci appeared on CNN and was asked why every state was not under stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

"I don't understand why that's not happening," Dr Fauci said. "If you look at what's going on in this country, I just don't understand why we're not doing that. We really should be."

Already about 90 per cent of Americans are under stay-at-home orders, which were all decided by state governors.

Dr Fauci, who also works on the White House coronavirus task force, never made suggestions that the US should be closed "another year" to combat the spread as the host claimed.

Mr Carlson went on to say that Dr Fauci was asking for "extreme measures" across the US until "there are no more coronavirus infections and no more deaths."

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But, in the Fox News host's opinion, he thought that would be detrimental socially and economically.

"Our response to coronavirus could turn this into a far poorer nation," Mr Carlson said. "Poor countries are unhealthy countries, always and everywhere. In poor countries, people die of treatable diseases. In poor countries, people are far more vulnerable to obscure viruses, like the one we are fighting now. You want to keep Americans from dying before their time? Then don't impoverish them."

While he called Dr Fauci an "impressive man", he thought the infectious disease expert could be wrong about just how much the virus could impact communities.

"That doesn't mean he's never wrong. On the question of the pandemic, Fauci has been wrong repeatedly," he added.