WASHINGTON – The World Health Organization reported this week that the death rate for the coronavirus increased to 3.4% and is more lethal than the flu, which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.

But President Donald Trump, citing only a “hunch,” called the number provided by world health leaders “false.”

Asked about WHO’s coronavirus fatality rate findings during an interview Wednesday, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity: “Well, I think the 3.4% is really a false number.”

He added, “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.”

Trump later put the number at less than 1%.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, announced the new fatality rate, which increased from the previous estimate of around 2%.

“Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” he said. “By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected.”

Secret Service:Secret Service protection of presidential candidates factors in aggressive crowds, mass shootings

Critics on social media said the president should not value his best guess over scientific analysis.

“There’s really no excuse for the president to be spreading this kind of misinformation to downplay a deadly disease,” tweeted the Democratic National Committee’s “War Room.”

Chris Lu, a former staff member for President Barack Obama, said “this kind of irresponsible talk creates a false sense of security that endangers public health.”

Other analysts said Trump is echoing a point made by health officials – the fatality rate may be inflated because some cases are not being reported.

“As the number of people getting tested positive goes up, the mortality percentage will go down,” tweeted Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary for President George W. Bush.

The latest on coronavirus:follow here for the latest coronavirus news