Governments all over the world are discovering that simply advising its citizens not to do something during a pandemic may not be enough.
That’s why residents here were first issued written advisories instead of fines when we broke safe distancing rules during the first few days of the circuit breaker.
But then the authorities realised that some people couldn’t give a hamster’s ass about the health of those around them, so they introduced fines instead.
Over in the US, calls to New York City’s Poison Control Center for exposure to specific household cleaners and disinfectants increased more than twofold after Trump said he would consider exploring the use of injecting disinfectants into the body to treat coronavirus, though he said he was being sarcastic.
Of course. The one time people actually listened was when the advice involved drinking a poisonous substance.
And now some official organisations are worried that people might be drinking hand sanitisers as well.
They could simply ask people not to do it because it’s hazardous, but as I previously said, humans aren’t great at following instructions, so they have to turn to another solution: making it taste bad.
Ingenious.
US Agency Asks Hand Sanitisers Manufacturers to Make Them Taste Bad So People Won’t Drink Them
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday asked hand sanitiser manufacturers to add denatured alcohol to the products so it would taste bad and discourage people, especially children, from drinking the liquid.
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According to Reuters, the advisory comes after Trump’s comments about using disinfectant to treat Covid-19 raised concerns that fearful people could poison themselves with untested treatments.
As you know, next to toilet paper and face masks, hand sanitisers are one of humanity’s most prized possessions at the moment.
People have been stockpiling them ever since the coronavirus started spreading.
The problem is that some of them are not just using it on their hands, even though it clearly says hand sanitiser.
Calls to the National Poison Data System last month related to hand sanitizer increased by 79% compared to March 2019, reported Reuters.
Most of them were about unintentional exposure to children aged 5 and younger, the FDA said.
So either people are drinking them because they think it will kill the coronavirus, or kids are drinking them because, well, they’re kids and anything that smells good seems tasty.
If you’re about to have glass of hand sanitiser on the rocks while watching cat videos on YouTube, please be aware that it is not meant for internal use, and drinking it can even cause alcohol poisoning.
“Hand sanitizers are not proven to treat COVID-19, and like other products meant for external use, are not for ingestion, inhalation, or intravenous use,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement.
The FDA recommended that the products carry child safety warnings and information to get medical help upon accidental consumption.
More importantly though, because the warning “it can cause alcohol poisoning” isn’t enough to deter some people from drinking it, the agency also suggested adding denatured alcohol to hand sanitizers to make it bitter, so the liquid would be less appealing for consumption.
Oh, like that also can?
Over 1 Million Covid-19 Cases
Meanwhile, the US is still grappling with the coronavirus outbreak as the number of infections crossed the 1 million mark yesterday.
They now have 1,010,507 cases with 56,803 deaths, the highest numbers in the world.
But, despite these numbers and the warnings of many public health experts, some US states are preparing to lift Covid-19 restrictions.
This could cause a second wave, which means even more people might resort to drinking hand sanitiser.
While we’re all understandably desperate for things to go back to normal, lockdown measures are vital to curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Lift restrictions too soon, and we may just have to start all over again.
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This is just one of those instances where it really is better to be safe than sorry.
Wake me up on 2 June 2030, please.
