Medical professionals aghast as Trump suggests disinfectant injections, UV rays as possible coronavirus treatments

'If people are out in the sun, with their hands exposed, will it kill the virus?' asks Trump

The medical community has raised the alarm over US President Donald Trump’s suggestions for novel coronavirus treatments, which include the injection of a disinfectant into the patient’s body and getting ultraviolet rays into the patient's skin.

In a White House press briefing, a coronavirus task force official presented results of government research that indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight and heat.

The study also showed that bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly.

As the briefing concluded, Trump said, "So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and then supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that too. Sounds interesting."

Trump suggested further research in that area.

“I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, sterilisation? So it'd be interesting to check that," the US President said.

Disinfectants are known to be hazardous substances and exposure to these could lead to serious damage to skin, body and the respiratory system.

Trump also asked if a person were to be out in the sun, and his hands exposed, was there a greater possibility of the virus being dead from that exposure?

The White House official, William Tryan, indicated to President Trump that, in theory, his suggestion of sun exposure killing the virus could hold true, subject to a lot of other conditions.

Journalists then asked the US president whether expounding an idea that heat or humidity could kill the virus might lead to people going out instead of staying home or might spread misinformation about how the virus could be killed. President Trump and the task force official responded, saying that it was just a suggestion and they were looking into more research.

"I think it's a great thing to look at," Trump said.

Pressed further by a reporter, Trump said that he was a president and not a doctor and called the journalist a representative of "fake news".

“It’s just a suggestion from a brilliant lab, by a very, very smart, perhaps brilliant man,” Trump said. “He’s talking about sun. He’s talking about heat and you see the numbers. So that’s it. That's all I have. I’m just here to present talent. I’m here to present ideas because we want ideas to get rid of this thing.”

Medical professionals horrified

Doctors, researchers and other medical proessionals were aghast at Trump's bizarre suggestion and shared their reactions with various outlets:

"This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible, and it's dangerous," Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and global health policy expert told NBC. "It's a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves."

Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, was quick to challenge the claim. The Daily Beast reported him telling MSNBC: “Everything that this scientist talked about from Homeland Security was basically incoherent, nonsensical, not really supported by evidence and really quite contrary to a lot of things we do know.”

Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and a former labor secretary, tweeted: “Trump’s briefings are actively endangering the public’s health. Boycott the propaganda. Listen to the experts. And please don’t drink disinfectant.”