Twenty-seven people died of intoxication after drinking adulterated alcohol in Iran. A rumor was circulating that alcoholic beverages would help cure the new coronavirus, Iranian official agency Irna reported on Monday.
With an official death toll of 237 on Monday, Iran is one of the main countries affected by the Covid-19 disease, after China and Italy. The consumption and sale of alcohol is prohibited in the Islamic Republic of Iran, but local media regularly report fatal poisoning with contraband alcohol.
"Misled"
According to Irna, 20 people died from poisoning in the southwest province of Khuzestan, and seven in that of Alborz, neighboring Tehran. The agency adds, quoting a local hospital official, that 218 people were hospitalized in Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan, following this poisoning.
Consumers believed "rumors that drinking alcohol can be effective in the treatment [of coronavirus-related illnesses]," the agency writes. The agency also cited Alborz's deputy attorney, who said the deceased had absorbed methanol after being "misled by Internet publications" regarding the supposedly beneficial role of alcohol against the coronavirus.
Irna says the new coronavirus has left 16 people dead in Khuzestan. According to the latest official figures, more than 7,000 people have been infected with the disease in Iran.
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