America’s generally pro-Trump media site Fox News felt compelled to report today that “Some poison control centers reported a spike in calls following President Trump’s suggestion that injecting disinfectant might help people infected with coronavirus.”
The comment alarmed medical professionals around the world. The president subsequently claimed on Friday that he was being “sacrastic,” although at the press conference he was soberly addressing health experts on the coronavirus task force, urging them to launch a study.
Lysol parent company Reckitt Benckiser issued a statement Friday reminding people that “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).” In Maryland, the Emergency Management Agency received over 100 calls inquiring about the president’s suggestion, forcing the service to issue an alert to remind citizens that “under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.” Washington State’s Emergency Management Division similarly issued a public statement to remind people to not “drink bleach” or “inject disinfectant.”
More concerning, though, is the number of people who actually went ahead with the suggestion. In New York City, the Daily News reported that the Poison Control Center saw 30 cases of “exposure to Lysol, bleach and other cleaners in 18 hours after Trump’s suggestion” that cleaning products might be used to treat coronavirus. NYC Poison Control saw only 13 such cases in a similar period last year.
Anna Sanders, who wrote the Daily News article, reported that no one died or was hospitalized as a result.
“After raising the idea of putting disinfectant inside people’s bodies, Trump cautioned Thursday that he’s not a medical expert,” reports one New York-based news site.
” ‘Maybe you can. Maybe you can’t. I’m not a doctor. I’m, like, a person who has a good you-know-what,’ Trump said, pointing to his head.”
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot