Hundreds of people have died and thousands more have been poisoned in Iran after drinking high-concentration alcohol in the mistaken belief it can cure coronavirus. 

More than 600 people have died after attempting the cure and some 3,000 are now in hospital, Iranian judicial spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaili said Tuesday. 

'The numbers are very high and are beyond our expectations,' Esmaili said. 'Alcohol consumption is not a cure but can be lethal.'

Speaking to state-run Tasnim News Agency, he added: 'A number of people have been arrested... and we will deal with them decisively

'They must be held accountable for their criminal acts, for causing death and damage to citizens.'

Iran is the site of the Middle East's worst coronavirus outbreak, having confirmed 62,589 cases of the virus and 3,872 deaths.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8196535/600-people-died-Iran-drinking-neat-alcohol-cure-coronavirus.html

For Sinhala :- කොරෝනා ප්‍රතිකාරයක් යැයි සිතා ඇල්කොහොල් පානය කළ ඉරානයේ 600 ක් මරුට