Trump proposed to treat COVID-19 with sanitizer injections: the number of household chemical poisoning has increased in New York

The day after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that injecting household disinfectants could be an effective treatment for COVID-19, the New York City Toxicology Center announced an increase in the number of poisoning calls made with such drugs. Writes about it NPR.

Trump made a controversial statement about coronavirus treatment at a briefing on the evening of April 23. The New York City Department of Health and Psychology said the Poison Control Center recorded 18 cases of poisoning with cleaning products in the 15-hour period ending at 00:24 pm on April 30. Nine of these were related to the use of Lysol, 10 were related to ingestion of bleach, and 11 were related to other household cleaning products. During the same period a year earlier, 13 such cases were recorded.

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On the same day, the City Sanitary Commissar issued a message urging New Yorkers not to resort to injections or other uses of disinfectants.

“It is clear that disinfectants are not intended to be ingested by mouth, ears, or inhaled, in any form. Such actions can put people at great risk, ”said Dr. Oxiris Barbot in a video message posted in Twitter New York City Hall.

What Trump said

During the briefing Trump noticed: supposedly, he saw that the disinfectant “kills the coronavirus in a minute”, and asked, “is there a way to do something like this by injecting it inside”.

“I saw how a disinfectant kills him (the virus. - Ed.) In a minute. One minute. Is there a way we can do something like this - by inward injection or other cleaning? It would be interesting to verify this, ”Trump suggested.

At the same time, he added that he was not a doctor, but he “had something here,” and pointed to his head.

Trump retracted his statement the very next day, calling it sarcastic. According to him, he just wanted to "see the reaction of journalists."

Public health authorities, medical experts and some manufacturers of household chemicals opposed any form of use of disinfectants and any other cleaning products.

But it doesn’t seem to work, and the number of reports of their use in the US has increased Last few days.

At the same time, Trump does not see his involvement in the situation. On April 27, the president said he was not responsible for any surge in the use of disinfectants inappropriately, writes CNN.

When asked about the increase in the number of detergent poisoning, asked at a press conference in the White House, Trump said: “I can’t imagine why.”

When asked if he was taking responsibility for the growth of such cases, Trump replied: “No, I don’t.”

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It is worth noting that Trump’s statement catalyzed the already growing tendency to “treat” COVID-19 with cleaning products. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published this week, said that from January to March 2020, the number of cases of poisoning by cleaning and disinfecting agents increased by 20% compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, the CDC noted that it is impossible to prove a clear link between the increase in the number of poisonings and the efforts of people to combat COVID-19.