WINNIPEG -- Manitoba officials are urging the public not to ingest, inject or consume any disinfectants.
The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the possibility that this could protect people from coronavirus.
“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning…it would be interesting to check that,” Trump said on Thursday.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said he couldn’t believe he had to make this statement to Winnipeggers.
“I’m going to just urge Winnipeggers to not consume or inject any disinfectants,” Bowman said.
“That includes Windex, that includes Clorox, that includes Lysol and other household cleaning products. These are products not to be consumed or injected. We would urge people, please observe the safety warnings on the labels and follow the expertise from health officials, including those at Manitoba Health."
Bowman went on to say that Trump’s comments were dangerous.
“I was talking to my kids about this morning because they were asking me questions about it,” he said.
“They follow the news, you know I was just explaining to them. I try to do my best when we’re in press conferences like this to be responsible with my comments."
“I never imagined that’s something I felt would be necessary to protect the safety and well-being of our residents but it is what it is and we’ll do what we can to make sure people are getting information that’s grounded in science and just responsible information.”
The mayor said he hasn’t heard any reports of people ingesting disinfectants in Winnipeg.
“I have had folks asking about it in recent days and people online asking about,” he said, noting there’s been a lot of discussion in the news.
Manitoba health officials echoed the same sentiment at a separate Friday news conference.
“We would just clearly give the message to not ingest or inject any disinfects,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer.
“Follow only the advice of healthcare provider on these things. Handwashing, very frequently, but do not ingest or inject any disinfectants
Medical experts, companies that make disinfectants, doctors, the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, have all warned of the dangers of ingesting or injecting disinfectants.
- With files from CNN Digital’s Jordan Valinsky.