False belief poison cures virus kills over 700 in Iran

The false belief that toxic methanol cures the coronavirus has seen over 700 people killed in Iran, an official says.

That represents a higher death toll than so far released by the Iranian Health Ministry.

An adviser to the ministry, Hossein Hassanian, says that the difference in death tallies is because some alcohol poisoning victims died outside of a hospital.

“Some 200 people died outside of hospitals,” Hassanian tells The Associated Press.

Alcohol poisoning has skyrocketed by 10 times over, in Iran in the past year, according to a government report released earlier in April, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The national coroner’s authority says that alcohol poisoning killed 728 Iranians between February 20 and April 7. Last year, there were only 66 deaths from alcohol poisoning, according to the report.

Separately, the Iranian health ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour said that 525 people have died from swallowing toxic methanol alcohol since February 20, state TV reports.

Jahanpour says that a total of 5,011 people had been poisoned from methanol alcohol.

He adds that some 90 people have lost their eyesight or are suffering eye damage from the alcohol poisoning.

Hassanian also says the final tally of people who lost their eyesight could be much higher.

Iran is facing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East with 5,806 deaths and more than 91,000 confirmed case.

Methanol cannot be smelled or tasted in drinks. It causes delayed organ and brain damage. Symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness and even coma.

— AP