Trump's COVID-19 disinfectant ideas horrify health experts

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to lead the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's musings on whether injecting disinfectants might treat COVID-19 horrified medical professionals on Friday and raised fresh concerns that his stream-of-consciousness briefings could push frightened people to poison themselves with untested treatments.

An international chorus of doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant after Trump on Thursday suggested that scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to cure COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.