Donald Trump has admitted that the coronavirus spread could damage the American economy, but he says the deadly outbreak that has panicked global markets has instead ”enforced” spending in the US after he has suggested the mortality rate was lower than one reported by health officials.

“It certainly might have an impact, but at the same time I have to say people are now staying in the United States, spending their money in the US, and I like that,” he told Fox News on Thursday.

“I’ve been after that for a long time: I’ve been saying stay in the US, spend your money here, and they’re doing that … they’re sort of enforced doing that.”

The president conceded the virus may have an impact on the strong economic growth seen in the US over the past decade.

“We were set to hit 30,000 on the Dow — this is a number nobody ever even came close to,” he said. However, from a peak on the 12 February at 29,600, the Dow Jones stock market index has now tumbled over fears about the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Show all 11 1 /11 Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Ben Gurion International airport, Israel Empty El Al Israel Airlines check-in counters are seen at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen AMIR COHEN Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows two men wearing face masks walking through a nearly empty terminal at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan epa08238057 The empty departure hall of the No 2 Terminal at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan City, northen Taiwan, 22 February 2020. The coronavirus causing COVID-19 disease which originated from Wuhan, China, has devastated Taiwan's tourism and aviation industries, forcing airlines to cancel flights and travel agencies to lay off workers or close. EPA/DAVID CHANG DAVID CHANG EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam A woman walks in the nearly empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo A man wearing protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, pushes his luggage past desks, closed for construction, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Changsha Huanghua International Airport, China A woman wearing a face mask stands in the empty luggage collection hall at the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epaselect epa08194188 A passenger wearing a protective mask stands in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows a salesclerk wearing a protective face mask and gloves (R) at an empty duty free shop at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo An empty departures gate is pictured at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epa08194181 Passengers wearing protective masks sit in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to and from mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam Passengers with protective facemasks walk with their luggage in the empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty

By 28 February it had fallen 14 per cent, although it has since made up some of that lost ground.

Mr Trump has made much of America’s healthy economy as his re-election campaign begins to ramp up. For 11 years in a row US GDP has been growing and unemployment is at a 50-year low.

“This is an incredible time for our nation,” he wrote on Twitter earlier this week. “Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, confidence is surging.”

However, his economic cheerleading has also deepened America’s partisan divide. A survey by The New York Times revealed 74 per cent of Republicans (rising to 80 per cent of those who regularly watch speeches by the president) thought the economy was “booming”. Just five per cent of Democrats agreed.

If the coronavirus does lead to a prolonged slowdown in economic growth in the US, it could end up harming Mr Trump’s re-election drive.

During the same Fox News show, the former businessman insisted everyone should stay calm. “It’s going to all work out. We have plans for every single possibility and I think that’s what we have to do,” he said.

“We hope it doesn’t last too long. I think people are viewing us as having done a very good job.”

Mike Pence greets governor with 'coronavirus handshake' amid backlash over lack of testing kits in US

Although America has not yet seen a significant epidemic of Covid-19, the death toll now stands at 11; there have been at least 160 cases confirmed in 17 different states.

There have also been problems with producing enough tests for the coronavirus to meet the growing demand.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, the president said he had a “hunch” based on “a lot of conversations” that the WHO figures were too high, leading to criticism from even Republican senators.

On Sunday, the WHO said that most patients (80 per cent) have experienced mild illness from coronavirus, while approximately 14 per cent experienced severe disease and 5 per cent became critically ill.