US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing of a coronavirus aid package to direct funds to small businesses, hospitals, and testing, in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing of a coronavirus aid package to direct funds to small businesses, hospitals, and testing, in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump says his comments suggesting people can ingest or inject disinfectant to fight Covid-19 were an attempt at sarcasm.
Trump said yesterday researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and shocked the world as he wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus "does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that".
But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office today, Trump insisted his comments were misconstrued.
"I was asking the question sarcastically to reporters like you, just to see what would happen," Trump said.
Trump's comments on disinfectants at Friday's briefing came after William Bryan, who leads the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, spoke about how researchers are testing the effect of disinfectants on virus-laden saliva and respiratory fluids on surfaces.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing of a coronavirus aid package to direct funds to small businesses, hospitals, and testing, in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo / AP
In his bizarre, and potentially fatal, outburst, Trump suggested people should inject themselves with "disinfectant" and hit "the body with light" to cure coronavirus.
The millionaire real estate mogul turned US president then added: "I'm not a doctor".
"Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light? And I think you said, that hasn't been checked but you're going to test it," Trump asked a homeland security official.
"And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that too. Sounds interesting," Trump said.
In this April 17, 2020, file photo, a patient is wheeled into Cobble Hill Health Center by emergency medical workers in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Photo / AP
"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. As you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that," he added.
"So that you're going to have to use medical doctors. But it sounds interesting to me."
Bleach and isopropyl alcohol - agents commonly used to kill the virus in the environment and surfaces - are toxic to the body when ingested, even in small amounts.
Experts had to jump in and strongly warn people against following Trump's suggestions.
Pulmonologist and global health policy expert Dr Vin Gupta slammed Trumps' comments as "dangerous".
"This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous," Gupta told NBC News.
"Any amount of bleach or isopropyl alcohol or any kind of common household cleaner is inappropriate for ingestion even in small amounts. Small amounts are deadly."
Following the news about the possible impacts of UV light and heat on the virus, Trump called on US citizens to go out and "enjoy the sun".
"I hope people enjoy the sun, and if it has an impact that's great," he said during the daily briefing.
"I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with heat and light. And people didn't like that statement that much."
Researchers convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine analysed studies done so far to test virus survival under different laboratory conditions as well as tracking where and how Covid-19 has spread so far.
"Given that countries currently in 'summer' climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed," the researchers wrote earlier in April in response to questions from the White House Office of Science and Technology.
In addition, the report cited the global lack of immunity to the new virus and concluded, "if there is an effect of temperature and humidity on transmission, it may not be as apparent as with other respiratory viruses for which there is at least some pre-existing partial immunity".
They noted that during 10 previous flu pandemics, regardless of what season they started, all had a peak second wave about six months after the virus first emerged.
In March, Dr Michael Ryan, the World Health Organisation's emergencies chief, said: "We have to assume that the virus will continue to have the capacity to spread, and it's a false hope to say yes, it will just disappear in the summertime like influenza."
