Many Americans are phoning in with their questions surrounding President Donald Trump’s comments on light and disinfectant injections as treatments of the coronavirus.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) both reported an increase in calls regarding Trump’s comments across their states.
The Maryland Emergency Management Agency issued a warning after receiving calls regarding the use of disinfectants.
“ALERT: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and [COVID19],” the agency tweeted.
It added, “This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.”
ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and #COVID19.
— Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) April 24, 2020
This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.
According to Hogan, Maryland saw a spike in calls to the emergency hotline at the health department.
“We saw hundreds of calls come into our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” Hogan said.
He added, “We had to put out that warning to make sure that people were not doing something like that which would kill people actually to do it.”
Watch his comments below:
The Maryland Emergency Management Agency warned that “under no circumstance” should disinfectants be ingested.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 26, 2020
Gov. Larry Hogan says they received “hundreds of calls” seeking guidance following Trump’s comments and it’s important to communicate “facts.” https://t.co/zB7Ch1H4ND pic.twitter.com/RrFpJqmllo
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Hogan how could he explain this.
Hogan noted it is important for Trump to focus on one message and stick to it. He encouraged Trump to ensure these press conferences are fact based.
Whitmer also weighed in on the issue claiming her state has seen a rise in calls to poison control.
“We have seen an increase in numbers of people calling poison control and so I think it’s really important that every one of us with a platform disseminate medically accurate information,” Whitmer said.
She added, “No one should be using disinfectants to digest it to fight covid-19. Please don’t do it. Just don’t do it.”
Watch her comments below:
“We have seen an increase in numbers of people calling poison control and so I think it’s really important that every one of us with a platform disseminate medically accurate information,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says on Trump disinfectant comments. https://t.co/kz1qZhs59Q pic.twitter.com/aocyhWCg4A
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 26, 2020
Trump clarified his comments shortly after claiming they were meant to be sarcastic, as IJR previously reported.