Over 600 People Die In Iran From Alcohol Poisoning Amid COVID-19 - Judiciary Official

Over 600 People Die in Iran from Alcohol Poisoning Amid COVID-19 - Judiciary Official

More than 600 people have died in Iran after consuming counterfeit alcohol in a bid to protect against the coronavirus infection and over 3,000 have suffered poisoning, the Iranian Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on Tuesday

TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2020) More than 600 people have died in Iran after consuming counterfeit alcohol in a bid to protect against the coronavirus infection and over 3,000 have suffered poisoning, the Iranian Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on Tuesday.

Alcohol is outlawed in Iran, but the country is producing industrial methyl alcohol which is poisonous for humans. Many Iranians have resorted to consuming counterfeit alcohol as a prophylactic measure from COVID-19.

"The general data that was provided to me speaks of more than 600 people dead and 3,000 poisoned," Esmaili said at a press conference, broadcast by the Iranian Judiciary's news agency Mizan Online.

Esmaili did not specify the time frame for which he provided the statistic on fatalities. He further urged people to mind that "alcohol is poison, not medicine."

In late March, the Iranian authorities reported 320 fatalities related to counterfeit alcohol poisoning.

As of Tuesday morning, the COVID-19 toll in Iran has exceeded 60,000 cases, including 3,739 fatalities.