Emergency hotlines in the US have seen a surge in callers asking for advice on ingesting disinfectant following comments made by Donald Trump during a press conference on Thursday

Officials in Maryland were forced to post a tweet on their official Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MDMEMA) Twitter page, telling their 54,000+ followers:

"ALERT: We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and #COVID19.

"This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route."

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And per the New York Daily News and Daily Mail, the New York Poison Control Center - a subagency of the city's Health Department - received 30 calls between Thursday at 21:00 and Friday at 15:00 about Lysol, bleach and other household cleaners.

This is an increase of 17 calls from the same time period last year.

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In response to Trump's comments, New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot tweeted on Friday: "To be clear, disinfectants are not intended for ingestion either by mouth, by ears, by breathing them in any way, shape or form. And doing so can put people at great risk."

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Trump's comments on Thursday came after William Bryan, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, presented the results of US government research, which appeared to indicate that the novel coronavirus appeared to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight and heat.

The study also showed bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly.

"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light," the president said regarding the findings. He then turned to Dr. Deborah Birx - the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator - and stated: "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 of 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 continued.

You can see Dr. Birx's reaction below:

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"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? So it'd be interesting to check that."

Pointing to his head, Trump added: "I'm not a doctor. But I'm, like, a person that has a good you-know-what."

Trump then addressed Dr. Birx again and asked if she had ever heard of using "the heat and the light" to treat coronavirus. To which she replied: "Not as a treatment. I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing, when you have a fever it helps your body respond. But I've not seen heat or light."

"I think it's a great thing to look at," Trump responded.

In response to the backlash, last night Trump told reporters that he was being "sarcastic":

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The POTUS said: "I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen."

He then added: "I was asking a sarcastic and a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. But it does kill it and it would kill it on the hands, and it would make things much better."

US sees rise in calls to emergency hotlines about ingesting disinfectant