Illinois Poison Center gets more calls after Trump comments

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave an update on the state's efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus at his daily media briefing Saturday. He's shown here at a briefing a week ago. Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

State officials addressed "myths, rumors and general misinformation" regarding cleaning agents and COVID-19 in the wake of remarks made by President Donald Trump.

"Ingesting, injecting, snorting household cleaners is dangerous. It is not advised and it can be deadly," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said during a briefing Saturday.

The Illinois Poison Center has seen a "significant" increase in calls regarding the use of cleaning agents in the last two days, compared to the same time last year, Ezike said.

That included calls regarding the use of a detergent solution for a sinus rinse, and gargling with bleach and mouthwash in an attempt to kill the new coronavirus, Ezike said.

On Thursday, Trump raised the idea of injections of disinfectant to fight the coronavirus.

"I see the disinfectant -- where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute," he said. "And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?"

Trump walked back his remarks the next day, calling it a sarcastic question to and health experts about how to stay healthy and how to protect yourself from this novel coronavirus," Ezike said.

State officials also announced that Illinois registered 2,119 new cases of COVID-19 and 80 more deaths statewide.

The state is reporting a total of 41,777 cases of the respiratory disease, including 1,874 deaths. A total 201,617 tests have been performed statewide, officials said.

Ezike said an estimated 2,600 people who were identified as health care workers have tested positive for the disease.

"It's a sad truth and sobering truth that those who are doing the most to protect the society as a whole are falling victim," she said.

The new data comes two days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended the state's stay-at-home order through May 30. The order will require residents to wear face coverings beginning May 1 in all indoor public places as well as other locations where social distancing of 6 feet or more isn't possible.

Ezike said state officials are still examining how to potentially allow the McHenry Outdoor Theater to reopen. The owner of the venue, the only remaining drive-in in the suburbs, initially announced it would open May 1, then said Thursday he was told he couldn't do that.

"We are working really hard trying to think through and trying to take creative solutions in terms of how we can make things available to people without putting additional people at risk," she said.

Construction work finished this week at the former Sherman Hospital campus in Elgin to turn it into a facility for nonacute COVID-19 patients. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District did "an amazing job" of supervising the rehabilitation of the Elgin site, as well as MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island and Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, Pritzker said.

The three sites are "in a state of readiness but not turned on yet because it does not appear, at least at the moment, that we need them in the near future."

The McCormick Place alternate care facility, which has fewer beds than originally planned, began to see its first patients April 16.

Current data shows the state has 947 ICU beds available of 3,456, and 1,810 available ventilators available out of 3,303.

Pritzker encouraged people to use the state's mental health resources regarding COVID-19. People can text "talk" or "hablar" to 552020, which will prompt a call back from a counselor within 24 hours. The service is accessible to people with vision and hearing impairments.

• Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report