An American televangelist claims he has summoned the ‘wind of God’ to destroy the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly 70,000 people worldwide and infected more than one million.

Pastor Kenneth Copeland was leading a televised service at the weekend, preaching a sermon to a virtual congregation (and a few kind-of-socially-distanced folk joining him in the near-empty room) via the Kenneth Copeland’s Ministries YouTube feed.

In the stream, he blew into the camera’s direction and, seemingly addressing Covid-19, said: “I blow the wind of God on you. You are destroyed forever, and you’ll never be back. Thank you, God. Let it happen. Cause it to happen.”

He also led a chant with other members of his megachurch, calling out: “Wind, almighty, strong, south wind, heat: burn this thing, in the name of Jesus. I say, you bow your knees. You fall on your face.”

Copeland, a Trump supporter, also explained it didn’t have to be a ‘fast’ wind, just ‘hot’.

Copeland said on stage: “This thing is gonna hit New Orleans. I tell you, it gets hot down there… Because it’s right down there on the coast. It gets muggy.

“And that’s what it takes to kill this thing. It hates heat, it hates humidity, it hates water – it just dies.”

Well, that’s that, then.

During the service, Copeland also said God had told him three years ago that he must raise $300 million (£243 million) of income this year – and he wasn’t going to let the virus stop him from reaching that goal.

In fact, Copeland’s been piping up about coronavirus a lot recently, having claimed he could heal viewers of his TV show of the disease – asking them to touch their television sets as he prayed.

He compared the virus to the flu, and even suggested people could be healed in person if they attended his services.

He said: “If we have to pass out thermometers, if we find one with a fever, let’s get him healed right there. What do you do if you get it? Big deal.”

At the end of March, he also said that the Covid-19 virus was ‘finished’, telling people in one of his televised sermons: “It is over.”

As I’m sure you’re aware, it is not.