Trump says remarks about injecting disinfectant to beat COVID-19 ‘sarcastic’

Trump’s remarks earned backlash from health experts, warning that it could bring danger to humans. (File photo: The White House/Facebook)

United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump clarified that he was not serious when he floated the idea of injecting disinfectant to beat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

During a bill signing on Friday, April 24, Trump explained that he was not actually encouraging people to do it, instead, he was “asking a question sarcastically to reporters,” whom he called “extraordinarily hostile people,” to see what would happen after he made his comments.

“I was asking a sarcastic — and a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. But it does kill it, and it would kill it on the hands, and that would make things much better,” he said.

During Thursday’s briefing, William Bryan, head of science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), gave a presentation about how the virus can be negatively affected when exposed to higher temperatures, humidity, and ultraviolet rays from the sun. He also noted that bleach can kill the virus in “five minutes,” but isopropyl alcohol can eliminate it even faster, consuming only “30 seconds.”

Bryan’s presentation left Trump to wonder whether it is possible to bring the light “inside the body” which, he said, can be done “either through the skin or some other way.”

He continued, “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. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”

Trump’s remarks earned backlash from health experts, warning that it could bring danger to humans. Even the manufacturer of Lysol, a disinfectant spray and cleaning product, issued a statement, rejecting the President’s idea.

“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.

“As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines,” it added.

But White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Trump and accused the media of “irresponsibly” taking the President’s comments “out of context” and running with “negative headlines.”