In Iran, false belief a poison fights virus kills hundreds

virus-outbreak-iran-a-deadly-drink

FILE — In this Monday, March 2, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a face mask, to help protect against the new coronavirus, speaks on his cellphone in downtown Tehran, Iran. Local media reported Thursday, March 26, 2020, that nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 sickened by ingesting toxic methanol across the Islamic Republic out of the false belief it kills the new coronavirus. That's as messages forwarded through social media on people surviving the virus by drinking whiskey and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer somehow saw people seek out bootleg liquor in Iran. (AP Photo Vahid Salemi, File)

virus-outbreak-iran-a-deadly-drink

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian doctor says hundreds have died and thousands have been sickened from ingesting toxic methanol across the Islamic Republic out of the false belief it kills the new coronavirus. Messages forwarded through social media about people surviving the virus by drinking whiskey and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer somehow saw people seek out bootleg liquor in Iran. Some bootleggers sell methanol, which is toxic. As of now, there is no known cure for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Scientists and doctors continue to study the virus and search for effective medicines and a vaccine.