Coronavirus Myths; From Qom to London, From Moscow to Milan

The vacuum created by the lack of an effective vaccine to treat coronavirus disease has led many people in various countries to resort to superstitious or unscientific methods to escape the fear of contracting coronavirus.

Investigations show that the prevalence and intensity of these ignorant methods is greater in countries where citizens distrust their government or where governments themselves are superstitious.

As reported in the news, the worst situation in this regard worldwide is related to Iran, where the number of people who have killed themselves by consuming industrial alcohol “in the belief of treating coronavirus” has exceeded 700 people.

Yet, from the Islamic Republic government, no strong campaign has been seen to inform all citizens about avoiding these unscientific methods, because this government itself is preoccupied with matters such as cautious interaction with proponents of Islamic medicine.

Neither serious action has been seen from this government against the distributors of substances with names like “Imam Kadhim’s medicine” and “violet oil” across cities, nor has there been quick and preliminary action against licking the shrine in Qom, nor has there been fundamental prevention of the entry of clerics like Morteza Kohnasali into hospitals who, by rubbing “prophet’s fragrance” on patients’ lips, have made the specter of death fly above them with even greater speed.

However, the resort to fake treatments in other parts of the world has also begun, although its scale and harm is less than Iran.

Dangerous fake treatments that are now being exchanged online and claiming victims include eating volcanic ash, drinking cow urine, using ultraviolet lamps or chlorine-based disinfectants, consuming silver solution, and consuming cocaine.

Russia and Italy

Paolo Gallano, an Italian citizen living in America, was forced to fly to Moscow first on March 13 this year when leaving New York for Italy because direct flights were canceled, and he had to wait for several hours for the next flight to Italy.

At Moscow airport, he witnessed people lining up to buy a drug called “Arbidol” and Russians told him that this drug “cures coronavirus.”

Arbidol, made in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, was one of the old “anti-influenza” drugs in the Soviet Union whose effectiveness was never confirmed by scientific and pharmaceutical organizations, and Western countries did not allow its import.

In 2007, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences again announced through scientific testing that Arbidol and other Soviet-era drugs have no therapeutic effect whatsoever, and a group of Russian doctors even warned citizens about the harms of Arbidol. However, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has always stated that he has “a positive view” of this drug, and currently every amount of Arbidol produced in Russia is quickly purchased and consumed by citizens.

Paolo Gallano, who had spent several hours idle at Moscow airport on March 13 this year, made a video of himself and said in a humorous tone that “we are in Moscow and now we are going to buy Arbidol, a drug that cures coronavirus.”

He uploaded this video to Facebook, and soon many users stated after seeing it that “the Italian government is intentionally depriving its citizens of this vital drug.”

This conspiracy delusion escalated to such an extent that a large number of Italians rushed to buy this drug online, and Julia Grillo, the former health minister of the country, was forced to raise this question in a message to citizens: “Who do you trust more? A doctor or a masked person at Moscow airport?”

Paolo Gallano himself, who had made the video, reported that the two packages of Arbidol he bought in Moscow are still in his drawer and he has no belief in using this “drug.”

Such an approach in Russia and Italy does not end with these cases, and now a group of Russians believe that necklaces made of pure silver can both repel “vampires” and cure coronavirus.

In Italy too, a group now believes that drinking very hot tea, especially above 27 degrees Celsius, kills the COVID-19 virus; such a thing has not yet been proven.

India

Last month, dozens of activists from the Hindu nationalist party, namely Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, hosted a cow urine drinking party.

Suman Harparia, from lawmakers of Assam state in India, told reporters at this gathering that cow urine and cow dung “cure coronavirus” and other party members present at the event also confirmed his statements.

Om Prakash, one of the participants in this party, also said that “we have been drinking cow urine for 21 years and bathing in cow dung. We have never felt the need for English medicines.”

Experts have repeatedly warned that cow urine and feces, as well as some traditional Indian medicines, have no recognized effect in treating COVID-19 or cancers.

Netherlands and Britain

Just at a time when quarantined people increasingly need online and telephone communications, people in some countries like the Netherlands and Britain, believing that the spread of coronavirus is somehow “related to 5G fast internet towers,” have set fire to and destroyed these towers.

Groups in the Netherlands have for some time opposed the emergence of very high-speed 5G internet, and the reason they cite is concern about possible harmful effects of strong 5G tower radiation on public health. Some also fear that this technology may violate people’s privacy.

However, recently a rumor suggesting that the spread of coronavirus is also the work of these towers has caused at least four large 5G towers in southern Netherlands to be set on fire in recent days, and reports of sabotage of 5G facilities in various areas of the Netherlands have also been transmitted.

British cabinet ministers, whose country has also recently witnessed sabotage of 5G towers, have declared the possible connection between 5G technology and coronavirus to be “fake news and utter lies.”

Belarus and Others

Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian President of Belarus, who says those who fear coronavirus are “mentally ill,” has refused to take restrictive measures and quarantine to fight the spread of coronavirus.

He has recommended to his people to go to the countryside and farm with agricultural tractors. He says that a tractor “is a cure for all ills” and a tractor “defeats coronavirus.”

Lukashenko has also recommended to everyone that they not only wash their hands with alcohol but drink vodka every day so that the coronavirus is “killed.”

Among former Soviet countries, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the President of Turkmenistan, has also asked his people to fight coronavirus by burning espand incense.

Scientists and experts have a long way to go to counter the flood of ignorance, but in this regard, some governments, such as the French government, have helped scientists by making efforts in scientific outreach and creating websites that provide a list of fake methods to fight coronavirus.

Source: Radio Farda