A US man, Gary Lenius, has reportedly died after drinking fish tank cleaner, believing it was a malaria drug that could potentially prevent coronavirus.
Gary Lenius and his wife Wanda, both in their 60s, according to media reports in the US, drank chloroquine phosphate in March 2020.
They had accordingly confused it for hydroxychloroquine – a drug previously promoted by US President, Donald Trump as a potential cure to treat Covid-19.
The deceased is reported to be a retired mechanical engineer living in Arizona.
He is believed to have died on March 22 and his wife was left in critical condition after ingesting the toxic chemical.
His wife told NBC that she had watched televised briefings during which President Trump talked about the potential benefits of chloroquine.
She says “We were afraid we were getting sick. We were getting really worried.
“We saw his [Trump’s] press conference. It was on a lot, actually, Trump kept saying”, she said.
By Melvin Tarlue