Poison control centers in numerous states have reported an increase in calls about exposure to household cleaners after President Donald Trump made comments suggesting that disinfectants should be explored as a possible treatment for the coronavirus, The Hill reported on Sunday.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said there was a “significant increase” in such calls to the state’s poison control center, including one in which a man said he gargled with a mixture of bleach and mouthwash, NBC Chicago reported.
Ezike urged the public not to ingest cleaning chemicals as a treatment for coronavirus.
Maryland also sent out an emergency alert after more than 100 calls came in on consuming disinfectant as a possible treatment to COVID-19, the governor's office told ABC News.
In another example, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her state has “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,” The Hill reported.
In New York City, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told NPR that there was a doubling in calls concerning exposure to household cleaners the day following Trump’s remarks compared to the number of cases the poison control center had on the issue during the same period last year.
However, comparing to last year might not be the fairest measure, the Centers for Disease Control reported last week, as calls to poison centers had aleady gone up some 20 percent this year for exposure to bleach and other disinfectants compared to the same period last year, according to Agence France-Press.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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