Alcohol becomes rival to Corona; 57 people die in six Iranian provinces

Reports published about alcohol poisoning in six provinces of Iran show that so far 57 people have lost their lives, according to officials, after consuming alcohol to combat the coronavirus.

The worst situation is in Khuzestan province, where the number of victims of alcohol poisoning in the cities of Ahvaz and Ramhormoz has reached 36.

This number of victims, which is likely to increase, was recorded while the number of people who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus in Ahvaz has been announced as 18.

According to officials at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, these people had tried to drink or gargle alcohol to "prevent contracting the coronavirus."

Meanwhile, it seems that this was not the only cause of alcohol poisoning. In recent days, some profit-seeking individuals in Iran had attempted to change the color of methanol alcohol and sell it instead of ethanol alcohol.

According to some comments posted on social media, people who previously prepared ethanol alcohol for edible purposes have been victimized by purchasing counterfeit methanol alcohol.

This situation is not unique to Ahvaz. In Tehran, Ardabil, Alborz, and Kurdistan provinces, two, three, seven, and six people have lost their lives due to alcohol consumption, respectively. The death toll in Kermanshah and Markazi provinces has also been announced as one and two.

Thus, the total number of people who have died from drinking alcohol so far has reached 57. The number of people hospitalized in these six provinces has also been announced at 460.

The first warnings about alcohol consumption were issued on March 1. The vice-chancellor of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran was among the first to warn about the distribution of methanol alcohol, saying that a "big problem" had arisen.

However, no one paid attention to this warning until, on March 7, officials at Tehran's Loghman Hospital announced that alcohol poisoning had increased and several people had died.

As usual, "cyberspace" was blamed, and judicial and police officials claimed that the rumor of using alcohol to disinfect the body and prevent contracting the coronavirus had flourished on social media and caused the crisis.

The story of alcohol poisoning is not over yet. A spokesman for Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences said on Tuesday, March 10, that a “new wave” of alcohol poisoning has begun, and that “substances far more toxic and deadly than counterfeit alcohol” are the cause and driving force behind this wave.

The alcohol crisis began on the very first day it was officially confirmed that two people in Qom had contracted the coronavirus.

The first thing that became scarce and expensive on the market were alcohol pads, and then as the use of ethanol alcohol for disinfection increased, the fever for the production of alcohol and alcohol-based disinfectants increased.

On March 29, Hassan Rouhani's government spokesman promised that the alcohol problem would be resolved within a week. In this regard, the tariff on alcohol imports was reduced to zero, alcohol exports were banned, and in some cities, alcohol was banned from leaving the city and being sent to other cities. In some cases, such as in Khuzestan Province, the Minister of Industry wrote a letter to the Minister of Interior to resolve the problem.

It wasn't just the government, the Mostazafan Foundation, the Executive Headquarters of the Imam's Decree, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps, institutions under the supervision of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, also announced that three enthusiasts had entered the alcohol production line. In some cities, such as Ahvaz, students also started producing alcohol so that alcohol could reach those seeking disinfectant as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Meanwhile, concerns about whether alcohol is impure or not and the Islamic ruling on its use were also raised. Fatwas were also issued by religious authorities stating that all types of alcohol are pure but should not be consumed.

Another problem was the boom in "alcohol hoarding." Since the first week of March, news of the discovery of several hundred bottles or several thousand liters of alcohol was published in the media every day. In addition, the market for selling counterfeit alcohol had also boomed.

People were desperately looking for ethanol alcohol for disinfection, and profiteers had learned the trick. They would add water, Vitex, or hydrochloride to methanol alcohol, which is yellow, changing its color, and selling it to people as ethanol alcohol.

The first court hearing for alcohol and disinfectant hoarders was held on March 8, and a review of the news shows that at least 90 defendants have been arrested in various cities for hoarding alcohol, but there are still many reports of the discovery of hoarded alcohol.

The increase in the price of alcohol was another problem. According to the government decree, the price of a liter of 70 percent alcohol was announced at 34,000 Tomans, but on March 6, the head of the Pharmacists Association announced that the price of alcohol on the black market had reached five times the official price.

These numerous side effects have caused alcohol to become a rival to Corona in the past two weeks, both in creating crises and in victimizing people.

Source: Radio Farda