Baltimore Officials Warn Residents Not To Drink Or Inject Disinfectant After President Trump's Comments

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore City Health Department warns residents not to drink or inject disinfectant after comments from President Donald Trump suggested it might help protect people from coronavirus.

Trump remarked at Thursday's White House briefing that he's seen that disinfectant "knocks it (COVID-19) out in a minute. And is there a way you 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'll be interesting to check that. ... It sounds interesting to me."

But local health officials are warning against it saying it will not protect people from COVID-19 and it could cause serious illness or death.

Even disinfectant maker Lysol warned customers from drinking their product.

In a statement on its website, RB, the makers of Lysol and Dettol, said due to "recent speculation and social media activity" the company was asked if ingesting disinfectants can be used as a treatment for coronavirus. To which they said, "no."

"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)," RB said in the statement. "As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines. Please read the label and safety information."

Nationwide calls to poison control centers are up 20%.