21 Turkmen die in Istanbul after drinking fake, anti-coronavirus alcohol

Municipality crews, wearing protective suits, disinfect public places as part of precautions against the coronavirus (COVID-19), in Adana, Turkey on 17 March 2020. [Eren Bozkurt – Anadolu Agency]

Twenty people have died in a week in Istanbul after drinking fake alcohol, CNN Turk reported.

The people who drank the counterfeit alcohol from different parts of the city were all nationals of Turkmenistan and 34 of them have been hospitalised due to the consumption of isopropyl alcohol, a type of alcohol not suitable for digestion, police said.

Police said some of the victims also rubbed the toxic substance on their bodies for protection against the novel coronavirus.

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Experts emphasised that there is no place for alcohol in the fight against this virus.

“To drink alcohol to fight this virus is not a remedy. Moreover, consuming excessive amounts of alcohol could cause damage to immune cells in the lungs and upper respiratory system,” Turkish doctors have said.

Eleven Turkmen people were detained as part of the fake alcohol investigation, the police have said.

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