As the death toll in America nears 50,000, Trump's coronavirus research suggestions at Thursday's White House coronavirus task force briefing have experts pushing back after he inquired about whether a disinfectant could be of use in cleaning the lungs of people with the virus as well as whether light or heat could help heal people who have been infected.

"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute," Trump said. "And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it'd be interesting to check that. So, that you're going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me."

Trump's research ideas came after a presentation from a U.S. official who said new research shows that sunlight, heat and humidity help kill the virus faster.
 

Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, said at a CNN town hall Thursday night that Trump was asking a "natural question" but added that he "certainly wouldn't recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant."

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Association of Poison Control Centers released an analysis that showed that calls to poison centers related to exposures to cleaning and disinfecting products from January through March were up more than 20% over last year's numbers and that the jump was possibly related to the coronavirus.

Trump also asked task force member Deborah Birx if it's possible to use light and heat to kill the virus in people. She said their use as a treatment is not something she is aware of but added that fever is a "good thing" that helps a body respond to infection.

"I hope people enjoy the sun, and if that has an impact, that's great," Trump said.