Social media users have ruthlessly ridiculed President Donald Trump’s suggestion that injections of disinfectant could be used to treat coronavirus patients.
Trump brought up possible treatments including ‘injecting’ cleaning agents in the body and use of ultraviolet lights at Thursday’s White House press briefing.
The comment provoked one Twitter user to show Trump as if he was asking a boy mowing the White House Lawn, ‘Have you injected your Dettol today?’
After the storm provoked by his comments, the company which makes Dettol said that ‘under no circumstances’ should disinfectants be injected or consumed.
Social media users have ruthlessly ridiculed President Donald Trump’s suggestion that injections of disinfectant could be used to treat coronavirus patients
The President’s comments came following a briefing from William Bryan a senior Homeland Security science and technology advisor, who delivered a report claiming that ultraviolet rays and heat have a potent impact on the pathogen.
The study also uncovered that bleach can destroy the virus in saliva within five minutes, while isopropyl alcohol took just a minute to kill it.
But the President’s unorthodox suggestions provoked a flurry of other memes from Twitter users.
One user depicted Trump, who is not medically qualified, as a doctor standing next to a patient who is connected to a Dettol drip.
Another portrayed Trump as the new face of adverts for cleaning product Cillit Bang
A third showed a glass filled with Dettol antiseptic liquid and an ice cube, with the caption, ‘Hey guys!!! It’s Dettol o’clock!!!’
Pretending to be Trump, they wrote: ‘Once I’ve pumped you full of disinfectant, I’ll zap you with this UV torch until you’re cured.
‘As a bonus you’ll end up with a glowing complexion like mine.’
And in a caption above the meme, they added: ‘You’re in good hands with sunlight, Dettol and Trump M.D. on your case!’
Another portrayed Trump as the new face of adverts for cleaning product Cillit Bang.
‘I hear Cillit Bang have a new advert. It’s so much better than Dettol and Domestos,’ they wrote.
Next to the image, a strap line from Trump read, ‘I’m Donald Trump, bang and the coronavirus is gone!’.
And a third showed a glass filled with Dettol antiseptic liquid and an ice cube, with the caption, ‘Hey guys!!! It’s Dettol o’clock!!!’
The mockery came after Trump’s ideas were lambasted by the medical community
One Twitter user wrote: ‘Wow Trump is so clever. I don’t have Dettol but looking forward to my breakfast of nice chilled toilet cleaner and a bowl of Brillos’
Another image showed a cup of coffee alongside a bottle of Dettol hand sanitiser
The mockery came after Trump’s ideas were lambasted by the medical community.
Pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta warned the public on NBC News that Trump’s idea could have fatal consequences: ‘This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it’s dangerous.
‘It’s a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.’
Joe Biden advised the president to focus on PPE and testing, rather than wild theories: ‘UV light? Injecting disinfectant? Here’s an idea, Mr. President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals.’
Speaking on Thursday evening, Trump asked Bryan: ‘Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light? And I think you said, that hasn’t been checked but you’re going to test it.
‘And then I said supposing you brought the light inside 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 said.
One user posted a photo of cleaning products alongside a cup of coffee and a syringe
Another pretended to spray Dettol Surface Cleanser into their mouth
Then he raised another possible treatment. ‘And then I see the disinfectant, where it 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, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs.
‘So it would be interesting to check that,’ Trump said.
‘So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors. But it sounds interesting to me,’ he said.
One of the memes which came after the President’s unorthodox suggestions yesterday
One woman showed herself as if she was about to swig from a bottle of Dettol
Agents that are commonly used to kill the virus in the environment, bleach and isopropyl alcohol, are both toxic to the body when ingested.
Trump, who noted he is not a doctor, did not guarantee results on his line of inquiry about a possible treatment.
‘So we’ll see. But the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute –that’s pretty powerful,’ he said.
Hours after his briefing, disinfectant manufacturer RB, the company behind the Dettol and Lysol brands, urged people not to try injecting disinfectant.
The company issued a statement saying: ‘Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus.
‘As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).’
It added that all its products should only be used as intended and according to usage guidelines.
In response to Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Bryan said health officials were not considering such treatment.