The president of the Federal Reserve’s regional bank in Texas, a state hard-hit by the new US coronavirus outbreak, has called for more “discipline” in wearing masks, saying official health guidelines were more important to the country’s economic fate than fiscal or monetary policy.

Robert Kaplan, head of the Dallas Fed, said on Monday he was concerned the US economic rebound was slowing due to the outbreak across the sunbelt, including Texas — and that public attitudes on healthcare protocols were at the “forefront of economic policy in the US”.

“While fiscal and monetary policy have a key role to play, there’s no question, based on conversations I’ve had extensively with epidemiologists and infectious disease experts throughout the US, that if all of us wore a mask, we would likely substantially mute the transmission of this disease,” Mr Kaplan said in webcast remarks to the National Press Club.