Donald Trump Says He Spoke 'Sarcastically' About Injecting Disinfectants Into Covid-19 Patients

On his suggestion to medical experts for using UV light, heat, or injecting disinfectants into the Covid-19 patients as a potential treatment, the President clarified he was being "sarcastic".

United States President Donald Trump. (Getty Image)

New Delhi: In an attempt to cover up for his comments US President Donald Trump made to medical experts saying they should think about using UV light, heat, or injecting disinfectants into the Covid-19 patients as a potential treatment, the President clarified he was being "sarcastic". The US President was criticised for his bizarre suggestion especially from health experts who asked people to not pay heed to the dangerous advice from the President, according to a PTI report. Health experts including doctors and the company manufacturing Lysol and Dettol cautioned people that injecting or ingesting disinfectants was dangerous. After the incident when President was asked to comment during a bill signing on Friday, Trump said, "I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen". "I was asking a sarcastic and a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside," he said adding that he was only referring to disinfectants that can safely be rubbed on people's hands. "But it does kill it, and it would kill it on the hands and that would make things much better. That was done in the form of a sarcastic question to the reporters," The Hill quoted Trump as saying in a PTI report. A journalist in the Oval Office said that Trump had turned to experts next to the stage when he first raised the issue on Thursday, the president claimed he was asking those officials "whether or not sun and disinfectant on the hands can help us." On Thursday, Trump had focused on the presentation from the Department of Homeland Security for Science and Technology Under Secretary Bill Bryan who talked about the initial findings that the coronavirus deteriorates more quickly when subjected to higher levels of heat, humidity and ultraviolet rays from the sun. "So, 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 said. "And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside of 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," he added. It is when Trump asked if there was a way to use disinfectants on the body "by injection inside or almost a cleaning." When questioned if it was irresponsible to give Americans the impression that going outside amid the pandemic would be safe based on the findings, Trump turned to Deborah Birx, a physician coordinating the White House response to the pandemic, and inquired about using the light and heat as a treatment. "Deborah, have you ever heard of that? The heat and the light, relative to certain viruses, yes, but relative to this virus?" "Not as a treatment. I mean, certainly ... when you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But not as I've not seen heat or light," Birx replied. "I think it's a great thing to look at," Trump said. These comments were absorbed by medical experts, elected officials and private companies who warned Americans not to ingest chemicals. Former Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb said there was "no circumstance" in which an individual should inject themselves with a disinfectant. The company that makes Lysol also warned on Friday against ingesting its products. The White House then pinned the backlash on the media, issuing a statement that accused the press of taking Trump's remarks out of context. "President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasised again during the briefing," press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. So far, the US has reported over 890,524 COVID-19 cases and over 51,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.