🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 155 (from laksa054)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa155.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://globalnews.ca/news/6871768/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://globalnews.ca/news/6871768/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6871768\/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison\/","crawl_time":1775506295,"first_indexed_time":1588004600,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"ca,globalnews!\/news\/6871768\/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison\/ s443","src_root_hash":"18131072723757590355","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Poison control calls spike after Trump talks of disinfectant to fight coronavirus - National | Globalnews.ca","meta_descriptions":["\"Hundreds\" of callers reportedly asked poison control if disinfectant could fight the coronavirus in the human body. It can't."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Call any\npoison control\nhotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject\ndisinfectant\n, regardless of what U.S. President\nDonald Trump\nsays on TV.\nEmergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the\ncoronavirus\nafter Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing.\nIt was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact.\nNevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to\nCOVID-19\nlast week.\nStory continues below advertisement\nTrump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation.\nIt is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend.\n“I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s\nThis Week\non Sunday.\n“We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said.\nThe Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls.\nALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and\n#COVID19\n.\nThis is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.\n— Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA)\nApril 24, 2020\nStory continues below advertisement\nMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks.\n“When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told \nThis Week\n. \nGet daily National news\nGet daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.\n“We have seen an increase in the 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.”\nTrump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time.\n“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning.  Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”\nStory continues below advertisement\nTrump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside.\nHealth authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body.\n“This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week.\nMany also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten.\nStill, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media.\nA White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context.\nTrump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing.\nStory continues below advertisement\nThe president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday.\n4:30\nTrump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic\nThe president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as\nhydroxychloroquine\n.\nIn 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the\nWashington Post\n.\nTrump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter.\nStory continues below advertisement\n….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean!\n— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)\nApril 26, 2020\nTrump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.”\nThe White House\nannounced\non Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day.\n—\nQuestions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:\nHealth officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.\nStory continues below advertisement\nSymptoms\ncan include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms,\ncontact public health authorities\n.\nTo\nprevent the virus from spreading\n, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.\nFor full COVID-19 coverage from Global News,\nclick here\n.\n— With files from Reuters and the Associated Press","attrs_markdown":"[SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6871768\/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison\/#content)\n\nIn the news\n\n- [Gas Prices](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11756857\/gas-prices-easter-long-weekend\/)\n- [Pam Bondi](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11757151\/pam-bondi-removed-attorney-general-donald-trump\/)\n- [Canada Post](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11753120\/canada-post-end-home-delivery\/)\n- [Tiger Woods](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11757042\/tiger-woods-bodycam-video-post-car-crash-released-police\/)\n\n[Global News Home ![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/assets\/dist\/images\/logo-mobile.svg?v=2)](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/)\n\n[Subscribe](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/pages\/email-alerts\/)\n\nSite theme toggle. 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Press the share\n   \n   icon on your browser\n2. Select **Add to Home Screen**\n3. Press **Add**\n\n## Comments Close comments menu\nWant to discuss? Please read our [Commenting Policy](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/pages\/global-news-commenting-policy\/) first.\n\n### Write a comment\n\n![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/globalnews_covid19tagpagebanner_1280x54_v4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all)\n\n- [Coronavirus homepage](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus\/)\n- [Covid case tracker](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6649164\/canada-coronavirus-cases\/)\n- [Vaccination tracker](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/7583050\/covid-19-vaccine-tracker-coronavirus-canada\/)\n- [Questions answered](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus-questions\/)\n\nscroll left\n\nscroll right\n\n[Video link](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/)\n\n[Headline link](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/)\n\nAdvertisement\n\nClose X\n\nClick to scroll back to top of the page\n\nBack  \nto top\n\n[World](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/world\/)\n\n# Poison control calls spike after Trump talks of disinfectant to fight coronavirus\n![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/assets\/dist\/images\/author-placeholder.jpg)\n\nBy  [Josh K. Elliott](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/author\/josh-elliott\/ \"Posts by Josh K. Elliott\")    Global News\n\nPosted April 27, 2020 11:41 am\n\nUpdated April 27, 2020 1:52 pm\n\n**5 min read**\n\nIf you get Global News from Instagram or Facebook - that will be changing. [Find out how you can still connect with us](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/9885400\/how-you-can-find-global-news\/).\n\nHide message bar\n\nThis article is more than 5 years old and some information may not be up to date.\n\n![Click to play video: 'Trump’s disinfectant suggestion “dangerous and idiotic” and “hugely irresponsible,” doctor says'](https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/izktnegw3z-zdovbpe9ak\/truuu.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)\n\n3:58\n\nTrump’s disinfectant suggestion “dangerous and idiotic” and “hugely irresponsible,” doctor says\n\nclose video\n\nmute video\n\nunmute video\n\nWATCH: Doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to cure COVID-19 – Apr 24, 2020\n\nLeave a comment\n\n[Share this item on 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size\n\nIncrease article font size\n\nCall any [poison control](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/poison-control) hotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject [disinfectant](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/disinfectant), regardless of what U.S. President [Donald Trump](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/donald-trump) says on TV.\n\n![](https:\/\/d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net\/70c8fc80)\n\nEmergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the [coronavirus](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus) after Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing.\n\nIt was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact.\n\nREAD MORE:  [Light, heat, bleach — Doctors reject Trump’s ‘idiotic’ coronavirus cures](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6862555\/coronavirus-disinfectant-donald-trump\/ \"Light, heat, bleach — Doctors reject Trump’s ‘idiotic’ coronavirus cures\")\n\nNevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to [COVID-19](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/covid-19) last week.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nTrump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation.\n\nIt is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend.\n\n“I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s *This Week* on Sunday.\n\n“We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said.\n\nThe Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls.\n\n> ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and [\\#COVID19](https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw).\n> \n> This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.\n> \n> — Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) [April 24, 2020](https:\/\/twitter.com\/MDMEMA\/status\/1253721510570844162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks.\n\n“When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told *[This Week](https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThisWeekABC\/status\/1254398753265647617?s=20).*\n\n![Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg)\n\n## Get daily National news\nGet daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.\n\nBy providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' [Terms and Conditions](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/terms-of-use\/) and [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/privacy-policy\/).\n\n“We have seen an increase in the 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.”\n\nREAD MORE:  [‘Give me liberty or … COVID-19’ — The irony of coronavirus protests in the U.S.](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6841743\/coronavirus-protests-us-signs\/ \"‘Give me liberty or … COVID-19’ — The irony of coronavirus protests in the U.S.\")\n\nTrump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time.\n\n“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nTrump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside.\n\nREAD MORE:  [Trump vs. himself — How he dismissed the coronavirus, in his own words](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6820223\/coronavirus-donald-trump-timeline\/ \"Trump vs. himself — How he dismissed the coronavirus, in his own words\")\n\nHealth authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body.\n\n“This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week.\n\nMany also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten.\n\nREAD MORE:  [People are poisoning themselves with cleaning supplies as coronavirus spreads — study](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6846129\/coronavirus-cleaning-supplies-poison\/ \"People are poisoning themselves with cleaning supplies as coronavirus spreads — study\")\n\nStill, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media.\n\nA White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context.\n\nTrump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nThe president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday.\n\n![Click to play video: 'Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic'](https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/u8ii2mmqko-o51l0gy10w\/trump_dis_web.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)\n\n4:30\n\nTrump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic\n\nMore on World\n\nMore videos\n\n- [Zelenskyy says ceasefire proposal to Russia still stands as Easter ends](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11766543\/zelenskyy-ceasefire-proposal-still-stands\/)\n- [Cocaine, caffeine found in sharks in the Bahamas, study says](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11766224\/cocaine-caffeine-found-in-sharks-bahamas\/)\n- [Trump: ‘Iran can be taken out in one night,’ could happen Tuesday](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11766330\/trump-iran-taken-out-could-happen-tuesday\/)\n- [Will sending aid to Cuba anger U.S.? Half of Canadians say ‘so what?’: survey](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11765993\/survey-should-canada-send-more-aid-cuba\/)\n\n- [![](https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/b73lvu6yf2-cwhii54y54\/trump_site.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Trump issues profane threat to Iran, gets slammed for ‘war-crime’](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11765752\/trump-issues-profane-threat-to-iran-gets-slammed-for-war-crime\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/c79wa93ayw-ulox785wok\/MA_AFF_ARTEMIS_MISSION_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Artemis II on track to fly past the moon](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11766194\/artemis-ii-on-track-to-fly-past-the-moon\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/7iw3utvddg-nufbxyf5vy\/SITE_HUNGARY.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Hungary faces high-stakes election: Trump- and Putin-backed Orbán vs. conservative Péter Magyar](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11765760\/hungary-faces-high-stakes-election-trump-and-putin-backed-orban-vs-conservative-peter-magyar\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/udv6gik1j7-dczlo7n9u4\/POPE_SITE.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) ‘We are growing accustomed to violence’: Pope Leo urges peace in Easter message amid war in Middle East](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11765753\/we-are-growing-accustomed-to-violence-pope-leo-urges-peace-in-easter-message-amid-war-in-middle-east\/)\n\nThe president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as [hydroxychloroquine](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/hydroxychloroquine).\n\nIn 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the [Washington Post](https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/13-hours-of-trump-the-president-fills-briefings-with-attacks-and-boasts-but-little-empathy\/2020\/04\/25\/7eec5ab0-8590-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html).\n\nTrump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\n> ….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean\\!\n> \n> — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [April 26, 2020](https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1254477491642732552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)\n\nTrump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.”\n\nThe White House [announced](https:\/\/twitter.com\/PressSec\/status\/1254821664967348224?s=20) on Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day.\n\n—\n\n*Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:*\n\nHealth officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\n[Symptoms](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6451106\/coronavirus-symptons-common-cold\/) can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, [contact public health authorities](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6640386\/coronavirus-symptoms\/).\n\nTo [prevent the virus from spreading](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6636818\/cough-kiss-touch-how-the-new-coronavirus-can-and-cant-spread\/), experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.\n\nFor full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, [click here](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus\/).\n\n*— With files from Reuters and the Associated Press*\n\n[Stick to the Facts Add Global News as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our stories in your search results. ![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/google-preferred-source-badges\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png) ![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/google-preferred-source-badges\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png)](https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=globalnews.ca)\n\n[Journalistic standards](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/pages\/principles-practices\/)\n\nComment\n\n[Report an error]()\n\n© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\n## Sponsored content\n## More from Global News\n- [![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9feaa7ea3163f7c153ba3155571c7e956c218f11688a635d33bfd5b51171f7c9.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=720) COVID-19 likely leaked from Wuhan lab, reports say Germany’s spies assessed](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11078297\/german-spy-agency-covid-19-origins-reports\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/COVIDjab.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=720) New Alberta COVID data highlights value of getting newly formulated vaccine once available: expert](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/10749951\/alberta-covid-deaths-flu-vaccines-formulation\/)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n![national skyline](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg) ![national skyline](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/mobile\/national.jpg)\n\nStay in the loop\n\nThe email you need for the day’s top news stories from Canada and around the world.\n\n## Trending\n- [![](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23ce4e16c6f00fefa46342dd0db9f4a35c2df49d1760c9ee3ab8af3cc50a5a8b.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=720) Are Canadians open to joining the EU? 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[![](https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/ylj1r9n7pn-zwibh3n2sx\/web_-_business_beat_march30_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Global Peterborough’s Business Beat March 30](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11752187\/global-peterboroughs-business-beat-march-30\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/veqnsj5fuv-p5cj10e6zj\/web_-_shelter_pet_march27_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Global Peterborough’s Shelter Pet Project March 27](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/11754075\/global-peterboroughs-shelter-pet-project-march-27-2\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/z2yivmok9a-81uu1nmz0w\/web_-_ice_storm_one_year_fix_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Peterborough area 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All rights reserved.\n\n[![Corus Entertainment Home](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/assets\/dist\/images\/logo-corus.svg)](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/)\n\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/privacy-policy\/)\n- [Copyright](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/terms-of-use\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/advertising\/)\n- [Advertising Standards Terms](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/terms-and-conditions\/)\n- [Corus Entertainment](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/media-centre\/brands\/)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/www.corusent.com\/accessibility\/)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n![](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p?c1=2&c2=3005670&c3=&c4=&c5=&c6=&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=1)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Call any [poison control](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/poison-control) hotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject [disinfectant](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/disinfectant), regardless of what U.S. President [Donald Trump](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/donald-trump) says on TV.\n\n![](https:\/\/d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net\/70c8fc80)\n\nEmergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the [coronavirus](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus) after Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing.\n\nIt was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact.\n\nNevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to [COVID-19](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/covid-19) last week.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nTrump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation.\n\nIt is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend.\n\n“I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s *This Week* on Sunday.\n\n“We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said.\n\nThe Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls.\n\n> ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and [\\#COVID19](https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw).\n> \n> This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.\n> \n> — Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) [April 24, 2020](https:\/\/twitter.com\/MDMEMA\/status\/1253721510570844162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks.\n\n“When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told *[This Week](https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThisWeekABC\/status\/1254398753265647617?s=20).*\n\n![Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg)\n\n## Get daily National news\nGet daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.\n\n“We have seen an increase in the 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.”\n\nTrump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time.\n\n“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nTrump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside.\n\nHealth authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body.\n\n“This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week.\n\nMany also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten.\n\nStill, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media.\n\nA White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context.\n\nTrump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\nThe president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday.\n\n![Click to play video: 'Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic'](https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/u8ii2mmqko-o51l0gy10w\/trump_dis_web.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all) 4:30 Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic\n\nThe president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as [hydroxychloroquine](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/hydroxychloroquine).\n\nIn 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the [Washington Post](https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/13-hours-of-trump-the-president-fills-briefings-with-attacks-and-boasts-but-little-empathy\/2020\/04\/25\/7eec5ab0-8590-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html).\n\nTrump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\n> ….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean\\!\n> \n> — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [April 26, 2020](https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1254477491642732552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)\n\nTrump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.”\n\nThe White House [announced](https:\/\/twitter.com\/PressSec\/status\/1254821664967348224?s=20) on Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day.\n\n—\n\n*Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:*\n\nHealth officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.\n\nStory continues below advertisement\n\n[Symptoms](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6451106\/coronavirus-symptons-common-cold\/) can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, [contact public health authorities](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6640386\/coronavirus-symptoms\/).\n\nTo [prevent the virus from spreading](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6636818\/cough-kiss-touch-how-the-new-coronavirus-can-and-cant-spread\/), experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.\n\nFor full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, [click here](https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/coronavirus\/).\n\n*— With files from Reuters and the Associated Press*","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://globalnews.ca/news/6871768/coronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison/
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First Indexed	2020-04-27 16:23:20 (5 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Poison control calls spike after Trump talks of disinfectant to fight coronavirus - National \| Globalnews.ca
Meta Description	"Hundreds" of callers reportedly asked poison control if disinfectant could fight the coronavirus in the human body. It can't.
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	Call any poison control hotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject disinfectant , regardless of what U.S. President Donald Trump says on TV. Emergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the coronavirus after Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing. It was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact. Nevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to COVID-19 last week. Story continues below advertisement Trump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation. It is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend. “I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls. ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and #COVID19 . This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route. — Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) April 24, 2020 Story continues below advertisement Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks. “When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told This Week . Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories. “We have seen an increase in the 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.” Trump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time. “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.” Story continues below advertisement Trump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside. Health authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body. “This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week. Many also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten. Still, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media. A White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context. Trump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing. Story continues below advertisement The president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday. 4:30 Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic The president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as hydroxychloroquine . In 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the Washington Post . Trump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter. Story continues below advertisement ….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020 Trump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.” The White House announced on Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day. — Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know: Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate. Story continues below advertisement Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities . To prevent the virus from spreading , experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here . — With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
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Please read our [Commenting Policy](https://globalnews.ca/pages/global-news-commenting-policy/) first. ### Write a comment ![](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/globalnews_covid19tagpagebanner_1280x54_v4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all) - [Coronavirus homepage](https://globalnews.ca/tag/coronavirus/) - [Covid case tracker](https://globalnews.ca/news/6649164/canada-coronavirus-cases/) - [Vaccination tracker](https://globalnews.ca/news/7583050/covid-19-vaccine-tracker-coronavirus-canada/) - [Questions answered](https://globalnews.ca/tag/coronavirus-questions/) scroll left scroll right [Video link](https://globalnews.ca/) [Headline link](https://globalnews.ca/) Advertisement Close X Click to scroll back to top of the page Back to top [World](https://globalnews.ca/world/) # Poison control calls spike after Trump talks of disinfectant to fight coronavirus ![](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/themes/shaw-globalnews/assets/dist/images/author-placeholder.jpg) By [Josh K. Elliott](https://globalnews.ca/author/josh-elliott/ "Posts by Josh K. Elliott") Global News Posted April 27, 2020 11:41 am Updated April 27, 2020 1:52 pm 5 min read If you get Global News from Instagram or Facebook - that will be changing. [Find out how you can still connect with us](https://globalnews.ca/news/9885400/how-you-can-find-global-news/). Hide message bar This article is more than 5 years old and some information may not be up to date. ![Click to play video: 'Trump’s disinfectant suggestion “dangerous and idiotic” and “hugely irresponsible,” doctor says'](https://i0.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/izktnegw3z-zdovbpe9ak/truuu.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all) 3:58 Trump’s disinfectant suggestion “dangerous and idiotic” and “hugely irresponsible,” doctor says close video mute video unmute video WATCH: Doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to cure COVID-19 – Apr 24, 2020 Leave a comment [Share this item on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Share this item via WhatsApp](whatsapp://send?text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20-%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Share this item on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Send this page to someone via email](mailto:?Subject=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0APoison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A) See more sharing options ## Share Close [Share this item on Facebook facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Share this item on X x](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Send this page to someone via email email](mailto:?Subject=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0APoison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A) [Share this item via WhatsApp whatsapp](whatsapp://send?text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20-%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) [Share this item via Telegram telegram](https://telegram.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F&text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca) [Share this item on Reddit reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F&title=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca) [Share this item on BlueSky bluesky](https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Poison%20control%20calls%20spike%20after%20Trump%20talks%20of%20disinfectant%20to%20fight%20coronavirus%20-%20National%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F6871768%2Fcoronavirus-donald-trump-disinfectant-poison%2F) Copy article link Copy link Descrease article font size Increase article font size Call any [poison control](https://globalnews.ca/tag/poison-control) hotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject [disinfectant](https://globalnews.ca/tag/disinfectant), regardless of what U.S. President [Donald Trump](https://globalnews.ca/donald-trump) says on TV. ![](https://d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net/70c8fc80) Emergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the [coronavirus](https://globalnews.ca/tag/coronavirus) after Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing. It was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact. READ MORE: [Light, heat, bleach — Doctors reject Trump’s ‘idiotic’ coronavirus cures](https://globalnews.ca/news/6862555/coronavirus-disinfectant-donald-trump/ "Light, heat, bleach — Doctors reject Trump’s ‘idiotic’ coronavirus cures") Nevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to [COVID-19](https://globalnews.ca/tag/covid-19) last week. Story continues below advertisement Trump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation. It is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend. “I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls. > ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and [\#COVID19](https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). > > This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route. > > — Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) [April 24, 2020](https://twitter.com/MDMEMA/status/1253721510570844162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Story continues below advertisement Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks. “When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told [This Week](https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1254398753265647617?s=20). ![Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/themes/shaw-globalnews/images/skyline/national.jpg) ## Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories. By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' [Terms and Conditions](https://www.corusent.com/terms-of-use/) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.corusent.com/privacy-policy/). “We have seen an increase in the 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.” READ MORE: [‘Give me liberty or … COVID-19’ — The irony of coronavirus protests in the U.S.](https://globalnews.ca/news/6841743/coronavirus-protests-us-signs/ "‘Give me liberty or … COVID-19’ — The irony of coronavirus protests in the U.S.") Trump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time. “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.” Story continues below advertisement Trump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside. READ MORE: [Trump vs. himself — How he dismissed the coronavirus, in his own words](https://globalnews.ca/news/6820223/coronavirus-donald-trump-timeline/ "Trump vs. himself — How he dismissed the coronavirus, in his own words") Health authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body. “This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week. Many also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten. READ MORE: [People are poisoning themselves with cleaning supplies as coronavirus spreads — study](https://globalnews.ca/news/6846129/coronavirus-cleaning-supplies-poison/ "People are poisoning themselves with cleaning supplies as coronavirus spreads — study") Still, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media. A White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context. Trump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing. Story continues below advertisement The president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday. ![Click to play video: 'Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic'](https://i1.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/u8ii2mmqko-o51l0gy10w/trump_dis_web.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all) 4:30 Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic More on World More videos - [Zelenskyy says ceasefire proposal to Russia still stands as Easter ends](https://globalnews.ca/news/11766543/zelenskyy-ceasefire-proposal-still-stands/) - [Cocaine, caffeine found in sharks in the Bahamas, study says](https://globalnews.ca/news/11766224/cocaine-caffeine-found-in-sharks-bahamas/) - [Trump: ‘Iran can be taken out in one night,’ could happen Tuesday](https://globalnews.ca/news/11766330/trump-iran-taken-out-could-happen-tuesday/) - [Will sending aid to Cuba anger U.S.? Half of Canadians say ‘so what?’: survey](https://globalnews.ca/news/11765993/survey-should-canada-send-more-aid-cuba/) - [![](https://i2.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/b73lvu6yf2-cwhii54y54/trump_site.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Trump issues profane threat to Iran, gets slammed for ‘war-crime’](https://globalnews.ca/video/11765752/trump-issues-profane-threat-to-iran-gets-slammed-for-war-crime/) - [![](https://i1.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/c79wa93ayw-ulox785wok/MA_AFF_ARTEMIS_MISSION_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Artemis II on track to fly past the moon](https://globalnews.ca/video/11766194/artemis-ii-on-track-to-fly-past-the-moon/) - [![](https://i0.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/7iw3utvddg-nufbxyf5vy/SITE_HUNGARY.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) Hungary faces high-stakes election: Trump- and Putin-backed Orbán vs. conservative Péter Magyar](https://globalnews.ca/video/11765760/hungary-faces-high-stakes-election-trump-and-putin-backed-orban-vs-conservative-peter-magyar/) - [![](https://i0.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/udv6gik1j7-dczlo7n9u4/POPE_SITE.jpg?h=article-hero-560-keepratio&w=article-hero-small-keepratio&crop=1&quality=70&strip=all) ‘We are growing accustomed to violence’: Pope Leo urges peace in Easter message amid war in Middle East](https://globalnews.ca/video/11765753/we-are-growing-accustomed-to-violence-pope-leo-urges-peace-in-easter-message-amid-war-in-middle-east/) The president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as [hydroxychloroquine](https://globalnews.ca/tag/hydroxychloroquine). In 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/13-hours-of-trump-the-president-fills-briefings-with-attacks-and-boasts-but-little-empathy/2020/04/25/7eec5ab0-8590-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html). Trump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter. Story continues below advertisement > ….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean\! > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [April 26, 2020](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1254477491642732552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Trump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.” The White House [announced](https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1254821664967348224?s=20) on Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day. — Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know: Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate. Story continues below advertisement [Symptoms](https://globalnews.ca/news/6451106/coronavirus-symptons-common-cold/) can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, [contact public health authorities](https://globalnews.ca/news/6640386/coronavirus-symptoms/). To [prevent the virus from spreading](https://globalnews.ca/news/6636818/cough-kiss-touch-how-the-new-coronavirus-can-and-cant-spread/), experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. 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Readable Markdown	Call any [poison control](https://globalnews.ca/tag/poison-control) hotline and they’ll tell you the same thing: don’t drink or inject [disinfectant](https://globalnews.ca/tag/disinfectant), regardless of what U.S. President [Donald Trump](https://globalnews.ca/donald-trump) says on TV. ![](https://d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net/70c8fc80) Emergency hotlines in multiple states have reportedly received hundreds of calls from people asking about using disinfectant to counter the [coronavirus](https://globalnews.ca/tag/coronavirus) after Trump openly wondered if it was a good idea at a press briefing. It was a terrible idea, as health experts universally pointed out after the fact. Nevertheless, the Republican governor of Maryland and the Democratic governor of Michigan say “hundreds” of people called state hotlines to ask about the idea, which Trump floated while attempting to guess a cure to [COVID-19](https://globalnews.ca/tag/covid-19) last week. Story continues below advertisement Trump didn’t actually tell people to inject bleach — as many of his defenders have pointed out — but he did treat it as an idea worth legitimate investigation. It is not a legitimate idea, but hundreds of Americans reportedly thought about it enough to give poison control a call over the weekend. “I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “We had hundreds of calls come in to our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus,” he said. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency also tweeted a reminder not to ingest or inject disinfectant under any circumstances on Friday amid a surge in calls. > ALERT🚨: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and [\#COVID19](https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). > > This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route. > > — Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) [April 24, 2020](https://twitter.com/MDMEMA/status/1253721510570844162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Story continues below advertisement Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of Trump’s many Democratic targets on Twitter during the crisis, also reported an increase in calls after he made the remarks. “When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen,” Whitmer told [This Week](https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1254398753265647617?s=20). ![Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/themes/shaw-globalnews/images/skyline/national.jpg) ## Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories. “We have seen an increase in the 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.” Trump was in the middle of one of his daily press briefings last week when he started dreaming up potential solutions in front of reporters and Dr. Deborah Birx, the only real doctor in the room at the time. “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute,” Trump, who has no medical expertise, said at the White House briefing on Thursday. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.” Story continues below advertisement Trump also wondered if the virus could be killed by exposing the body to heat or sunlight from the inside. Health authorities and cleaning-product makers, including the company behind Lysol, quickly came out to warn against using disinfectant in any way on (or inside) the human body. “This is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions made so far in how one might actually treat COVID-19,” Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told Reuters last week. Many also ridiculed Trump on social media for his comments, which run contrary to what children typically learn in kindergarten. Still, Trump supporters rushed to defend the comment, claiming that he didn’t say it, that no one would be stupid enough to try it or that he was playing some elaborate game to troll the media. A White House spokesperson claimed on Friday that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context. Trump later claimed that he was speaking “sarcastically” to bait reporters, although video clearly shows he was speaking directly to his coronavirus advisers, who were sitting apart from media at the briefing. Story continues below advertisement The president, who once looked at a solar eclipse without heeding medical advice to shield his eyes, refused to back down from his other theory about sunlight and the virus on Friday. ![Click to play video: 'Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic'](https://i1.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/u8ii2mmqko-o51l0gy10w/trump_dis_web.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all) 4:30 Trump says his remarks on using disinfectant inside people’s bodies were sarcastic The president has frequently used the press briefings to boast about his own efforts, put down his political enemies, present overly optimistic forecasts or push dubious solutions to the pandemic, such as the anti-malaria drug known as [hydroxychloroquine](https://globalnews.ca/tag/hydroxychloroquine). In 13 hours of speaking to the public, Trump spent about four-and-a-half minutes expressing condolences to the more than 50,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, according to an analysis by the [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/13-hours-of-trump-the-president-fills-briefings-with-attacks-and-boasts-but-little-empathy/2020/04/25/7eec5ab0-8590-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html). Trump did not take questions at a truncated White House briefing on Friday, and he did not hold press briefings over the weekend. Instead, he spent much of the weekend — including wife Melania Trump’s birthday — rage-tweeting about the news and retweeting allies’ messages of support on Twitter. Story continues below advertisement > ….schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean\! > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [April 26, 2020](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1254477491642732552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Trump seemed to disavow the press briefings on Saturday, calling them a “waste of time.” The White House [announced](https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1254821664967348224?s=20) on Monday that Trump would return for a briefing later in the day. — Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know: Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate. Story continues below advertisement [Symptoms](https://globalnews.ca/news/6451106/coronavirus-symptons-common-cold/) can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, [contact public health authorities](https://globalnews.ca/news/6640386/coronavirus-symptoms/). To [prevent the virus from spreading](https://globalnews.ca/news/6636818/cough-kiss-touch-how-the-new-coronavirus-can-and-cant-spread/), experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, [click here](https://globalnews.ca/tag/coronavirus/). — With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
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