Coronavirus: Trump asks whether light, disinfectants can be injected into a person to fight Covid-19

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Trump's advice goes against health advice from bodies such as the WHO, which says that UV lamps or lights should not be used to sterilise people's hands or other parts of the body; they can cause skin irritation, and spraying alcohol or chlorine on your body can be harmful.

Washington, United States - US President made his comments at his daily coronavirus task-force briefing at the White House.

By Agencies

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Published: Fri 24 Apr 2020, 6:02 AM

Last updated: Fri 24 Apr 2020, 9:20 AM

US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that a way should be found to inject light and disinfectants into human bodies to kill the coronavirus.
Trump made his comments at his daily coronavirus task-force briefing at the White House after learning about the effects of sunlight and household disinfectants on Covid-19. 
"Supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you could do either through the skin or in some other way. The whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That's, uh, that's pretty powerful."
Trump was speaking after William Bryan, acting undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, discussed the impacts of solar light, bleach, and isopropyl alcohol on the virus on surfaces and in the air.
"Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus both surfaces and in the air," Bryan said. "Bleach will kill the virus in five minutes. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds. ... You rub it and it goes away faster."
The findings could bolster hopes that the coronavirus will mimic the behavior of other respiratory diseases like influenza, which typically are less contagious in warm weather.
But the coronavirus has also proven lethal in warm-weather places like Singapore, raising broader questions about the impact of environmental factors.
Trump then proposed that scientists could look at finding a way to "hit the body" with ultraviolet or "just very powerful" light and also see if they could inject the body with disinfectants to destroy the virus.

"I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute," he said. "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'd be interesting to check that."
Trump's advice goes against health advice from bodies such as the World Health Organization, which says that UV lamps or lights should not be used to sterilise people's hands or other parts of the body; they can cause skin irritation, and spraying alcohol or chlorine on your body can be harmful.
Experts also say that, depending on the ingredients, household cleaners can potentially be highly damaging to humans if ingested. Bleach can also irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and throat and cause irritation and injury to organs if ingested.
This is not the first time that Trump has discussed the possibility of a controversial Covid-19 treatment which has not been endorsed by health officials.
In March, he backed the use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine as a possible remedy for the disease.
However, experts have warned against the wholesale prescription of the medication, citing a lack of evidence showing its effects, side effects, and other issues.
When Bryan was asked at Thursday's briefing if there was any situation in which a household disinfectant could or should be injected into a person, he said "no," adding that he was there to talk about his team's findings.
"We don't do that within that lab, at our labs," he said.
Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task-force coordinator, said she had never heard of employing heat or light as a treatment to destroy viruses inside a person's body.
"I mean, certainly fever is a good thing," Birx explained. "When you have a fever it helps your body respond. But not as- I've not seen heat or light."


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