Continuing his trend of delivering bizarre statements, the United States President Donald Trump has now suggested that ultraviolet light and disinfectant injections could be looked into as possible cures of Covid19. He said this during the White House coronavirus task force briefing on Thursday.
Addressing William Bryan, the acting homeland security undersecretary for science and technology during the briefing, Trump said, according to The Guardian, “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. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you’re going to test that too?” Ultraviolet rays are capable of damaging skin cells and its overexposure may lead to skin cancer, the report added.
Trump also suggested that injecting disinfectants could be looked into as another cure against the novel coronavirus. “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute...And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning?” the US President was quoted as saying. “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. So, that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me.”
After Trump’s address, many leaders went on Twitter to warn people against the possible dangers of following Trump’s unverified medical advice at home. “Folks, do NOT try this at home. Although UV-C light does kill germs, bacteria and viruses on exposed surfaces, it can also cause painful burns on the skin, can damage the cornea if observed directly, and is a known carcinogen. In short, Trump is an idiot,” Jon Cooper, former chairman of the Democratic Coalition wrote on Twitter.
Robert Reich, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, tweeted that the president’s briefings were “actively endangering public health”. He also advised people against drinking disinfectant.
According to the data provided by the Johns Hopkins University tracker, the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the US currently stands at 869,172 with 49,963 deaths.
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