30 cases of exposure to disinfectants reported in New York — after Trump’s remarks

New York reported 30 cases of exposure to disinfectants hours after US President Donald Trump suggested the substance could be used in the fight against coronavirus.

A spokesman of the city’s Poison Control Centre told New York Daily News the agency has managed 30 cases 18 hours after Trump made the remarks.

The official said the cases, reported from Thursday evening until Friday afternoon, is more than double the number the centre dealt with over the same period last year.

The spokesman was quoted as saying while it received reports of nine cases of possible exposure to Lysol, a US brand of disinfectant, there were 10 and 12 cases regarding bleach and household cleaners respectively.

At the White House coronavirus briefing on Thursday, Trump spoke about the possible benefits of “injecting” disinfectants into the body to the fight against the virus.

He had said: “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute. 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.”

However, Trump later said he was being sarcastic about the comments, but not before he came under intense criticism from medical professionals who warned the substance is poisonous and dangerous when mishandled.

Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Lysol and Dettol, also reacted to the claim, saying “under no circumstance” should its products be administered into the human body.