KEY POINTS

  • 44 died of alcohol poisoning in Iran
  • Fake rumors spread saying drinking alcohol is effective against COVID-19
  • 291 dead and 8,000 infected in the country

Around 44 people died of methanol poisoning in Iran thinking that drinking alcohol would protect them from COVID-19.

A New York Post article reported that hundreds of patients were hospitalized due to the spread of fake rumors that drinking alcoholic beverages would save them from coronavirus infection, despite alcohol being banned in most of the Islamic republic.

On Tuesday, 36 deaths caused by alcohol poisoning were recorded in the province of Khuzestan while seven more died in the northern region of Alborz and another one in Kermanshah, western Iran.

In the Jundishapur Medical University in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan, 200 people were admitted for alcohol poisoning caused by the "rumors that drinking alcohol can be effective in treating coronavirus", spokesman Ali Ehsanpour said.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), 291 were killed in most of the Islamic republic and 8,000 more were infected.

Cyprus locked down its largest hospital on Tuesday for 48 hours after a heart surgeon tested positive for coronavirus
Cyprus locked down its largest hospital on Tuesday for 48 hours after a heart surgeon tested positive for coronavirus AFP / Iakovos Hatzistavrou
Coronavirus