United States President Donald Trump said that injecting disinfectants and exposure to ultraviolet rays could help persons who tested positive with COVID-19. His statement alarm experts, especially doctors and epidemiologists in the country.
Dr. Eugene Gu, part of a laboratory which is involved in COVID-19 testing, wrote on Twitter that Trump is absolutely wrong and irresponsible as he added that Clorox, Tide Pods and Lysol will kill COVID-19 and there is no question about it. But if you are infected, then the coronavirus is inside your cells. If you see any of those disinfectants to kill the coronavirus in your own cells then you'll die right along with the coronavirus.
Mr. #Trump, chlorine disinfectants are poison. I know chemistry isn't your strong suit. Or biology. Or physics. Or reality. UV light kills viruses, but shined on human cells in the way you seem to say causes mutations. Barron, at 14, has likely had a science class & can explain. https://t.co/rfR8WQpvNp — Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 24, 2020
This - injecting lethal carcinogens into lungs - as Rx suggestion from US leadership - clinches the spot for most depressing thing today Could’ve been failed remdisivir RCT OR Only 21% sampled NYC residents being antibody ve for #COVID19 in a city already overwhelmed by it pic.twitter.com/0nbeA6P7Yo — Rohan Khera, MD MS (@rohan_khera) April 24, 2020
During the daily press briefing at the White House, Trump was speaking and after his discussion on work by government researchers on the effect of sunlight and heat against coronavirus, he first inserted that whether light could be brought inside the body before moving on the next disinfectant topic.
Trump pondered on the press briefing that if it (the sunlight) could knock out the virus in a minute, is there a way that we can do something like that by injection, inside or almost a cleaning for it will be interesting to check.
In the past, U.S. President Donald Trump touted unproven treatments as cures for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, despite health officials' caution.
A substance used in cleaning fish tanks caused the death of a man in Arizona in late March after taking chloroquine phosphate and after hearing Trump repeatedly talking about the said substance. The man's wife revealed that his husband has been watching the president's daily press briefings before his death.
Heat and Humidity vs COVID-19
Aside from disinfectants, Trump also claimed that long exposure to sunlight of ultraviolet rays can also kill the virus.
In light of this, the acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, William Bryan shared in the earlier part of the briefing that government researchers have determined that coronavirus survives best indoors and in dry conditions while losing potency when temperatures and humidity rise and it can be matched best by exposing to sunlight.
Bryan also added in the press briefing about the findings that raised hopes that the COVID-19 would mimic the same behavior with other respiratory illnesses such as influenza, which can be less acquired in warm weather areas as he emphasized that the virus dies quickest in the presence of direct sunlight.
Despite the studies regarding temperature killing the virus, recent research shows that COVID-19 has also proven lethal in warm and humid countries such as Singapore which results in broader questions whether the effect of environmental factors favor the warm countries. In addition, the researchers said that the virus loses half of its strength when exposed to sunlight within 90 seconds.
Related article: Blood Clotting Among COVID-19 Patients Baffle Doctors
