Last Updated on March 11, 2020
A report published by Yahoo found that dozens of Iranians have died after ingesting toxic alcohol which was rumored to be a cure for the deadly coronavirus.
Iran has struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus within its borders as the disease has infected politicians–and claiming the lives of two senior politicians, to date.
International sanctions and domestic mismanagement have contributed to the country’s inability to properly tackle the growing crisis.
As of yesterday, Yahoo reported that the country had registered 8,042 confirmed cases and at least 291 deaths from the coronavirus.
Lately, a false rumor had done the rounds throughout the country which claimed that alcohol was a cure for the illness.
Ali Ehsanpour, spokesman of Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences, said: “Some of the citizens of Ahwaz had heard that drinking alcohol could help them fight the coronavirus, so they used it as a preventive measure,” according to ABC.
However, in the country where alcohol is prohibited, bootleggers synthesized a deadly concoction of toxic methanol–instead of ethanol–and bleach as a discoloring agent to give it a more palatable hue.
Given Iran’s prohibition laws, the alcohol used in the makeshift remedy is drawn from substances used for sanitary purposes.
Seven bootleggers have since been arrested.
In Khuzestan, more people have died from alcohol poisoning–as an intended cure for the coronavirus–than the coronavirus itself.
Over 30 people have died from the lethal solution, while 18 have died from the virus in Khuzestan alone.
Ehsanpour added: “One of the victims got blind and some others are in critical condition.”
The news of these alcohol-related deaths come on the same day as Iran reported a jump in deaths from the coronavirus.
Elsewhere, rumors have circulated social media pointing to chlorine as a viable cure for COVID-19.
These rumors popped up in Indian social media circles, with even some American accounts propagating the myth.
