Even though White House officials say Trump’s suggestion of injecting disinfectant as a possible way to treat coronavirus patients was taken out of context, that didn’t stop at least 30 New Yorkers from allegeding doing what he said, according to New York Daily News.
The Poison Control Center, which is a subagency of the New York City’s Health Department, managed a total of 30 cases of possible exposure to disinfectants between 9 p.m. Thursday and 3 p.m. Friday, according to a spokesperson. That was recorded within an 18-hour period following Trump’s White House briefing.
That’s also reportedly an unusually high number for those types of calls. None of the people who called passed away or required hospitalization, according to the spokesperson.
According to data obtained by New York Daily News, the Poison Control Center only handled 13 similar cases in the same 18-hour period last year.
To get into the details, out of the cases reported between Thursday and Friday, nine were specifically about possible exposure to Lysol. Also, 10 were in regards to bleach and 11 about household cleaners in general, the spokesperson said.
On Friday afternoon, following widespread criticism from medical experts, Trump tried to walk back his dangerous suggestion by claiming it was a joke.
“I said it sarcastically,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Despite Trump’s alleged sarcasm defense, health and emergency agencies took his comments seriously and warned people against listening to the president.
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