President Trump suggested the possibility of an “injection” of disinfectant into a person infected with the coronavirus as a deterrent to the virus during his daily briefing today.
Trump made the remark after Bill Bryan, who leads the Department of Homeland Security’s science and technology division, gave a presentation on research his team has conducted that shows that the virus doesn’t live as long in warmer and more humid temperatures.
Bryan said, “The virus dies quickest in sunlight,” leaving Trump to wonder whether you could bring the light “inside the body.”
“So supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just a very powerful light — and I think you said that hasn’t been checked because of the testing,” Trump said, speaking to Bryan during the briefing. “And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that, too.”
He added: “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
He didn’t specify the kind of disinfectant.
Bryan later cautioned that the agency’s findings did not mean that sunlight will kill the virus, nor should going outdoors supersede social distancing guidelines put in place by state and federal leaders.
“It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel the summer is just going to totally kill the virus… that is not the case,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly touted unproven treatments during the daily briefings on COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus.
For instance, he has touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game changer,” but health officials have strongly cautioned against it.
An Arizona man died in late March after having ingested chloroquine phosphate — believing it would protect him from becoming infected with the coronavirus.
The man’s wife told NBC News that she had watched televised briefings during which Trump talked about the potential benefits of chloroquine.
The U.S. has more than 873,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins, including in a number of warm weather and humid climates, further raising questions about the sunlight’s impact on the disease.
New Orleans was one of the country’s first hot spots, while Florida and Georgia have seen increasing cases.
Countries located near the tropics have also dealt with infections.