By Michael Hernande
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump is being widely harangued for suggesting people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus be injected with disinfectants to eliminate the disease.
"Please do not ingest or inject disinfectant," Dr. John Shields, an orthopedic surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, pleaded on Twitter shortly after the president made the suggestion. "I feel like one should not have to say this."
Trump suggested on Thursday a wide array of unorthodox coronavirus treatments, including somehow blasting the inside of the human body with ultraviolet light and injecting the infected individuals with disinfectants.
"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Cause you see, it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that. You’re going to have to use medical doctors with that, but it sounds interesting to me," he said.
"And so we’ll see. But the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s pretty powerful," he added.
Bleach and other disinfectants are dangerous and toxic, and should not be ingested in any manner.
On Friday, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Lysol and Dettol's parent company, issued a statement urging consumers not to ingest their products "due to recent speculation and social media activity."
"As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)," it said. "We have a responsibility in providing consumers with access to accurate, up-to-date information as advised by leading public health experts. For this and other myth-busting facts, please visit Covid-19facts.com."
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic candidate heading into November's election also criticized Trump, saying on Twitter "UV light? Injecting disinfectant? Here’s an idea, Mr. President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals."