As Nigeria records more confirmed cases of Covid-19 every day, with a total of 131 at the time of this report, many citizens have started looking for ‘concocted’ self-help measures to protect themselves against the disease.
Since the novel coronavirus has no vaccine at the moment, many Nigerians have been sharing various unscientific and unproven drugs or foods as having the power to protect one against the virus or cure infected persons.
One of the most viral claims in this regard is that taking alcohol protects one against contracting Covid-19.
How true is this claim?
Fact: Taking alcohol DOES NOT protect against contracting Covid-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Nigeria
In a tweet posted via its official Twitter handle on Monday, March 30, the global health organisation warned against taking alcohol especially with the belief that it will protect one against coronavirus.
It further explained that it can, in fact, be dangerous to drink alcohol. According to WHO, taking alcohol can increase one’s chances of having health issues.
“FACT: Drinking alcohol DOES NOT protect you against #COVID19 and can be dangerous,” WHO tweeted.
“Frequent or excessive alcohol consumption can increase your risk of health problems.”
At the moment, the verified way to protect oneself from contracting Covid-19 is regular handwashing or using alcohol-based sanitizers, practising social distancing and staying at home, unless it is absolutely necessary to go out.
Also, there is another viral claim that cooking neem leaf, pawpaw leaf, ginger, garlic, lime and orange is an effective treatment for Covid-19.
As earlier noted, Covid-19 has no cure at the moment and efforts are still ongoing across the world to find solutions to the deadly infectious disease.
According to Nigeria Health Watch, “there is NO scientific evidence that cooking neem leaf, pawpaw leaf, ginger, garlic, lime and orange is an effective treatment for coronavirus.”