Georgia Poison Center Sees Increase In Calls From Misuse Of Cleaning Products

Poisoning calls in general have risen 9% in Georgia from last year amid the COVID-19 crisis, an official said.

David Goldman / Associated Press

Calls to the Georgia Poison Center have risen during the pandemic, with a spike in people reporting illnesses related to cleaning products and disinfectants.

Those increases have occurred nationally, with poison centers seeing up to a 20% rise in exposure calls related to cleaning and disinfecting products, often from inhalation.

It has been a bizarre week related to disinfectants, capped by controversy over President Donald Trump’s remarks about them Thursday at a White House briefing, where he speculated on their use for virus treatment.