India: 9 die drinking sanitizer amid coronavirus alcohol ban

At least nine people are reported to have died in southern India after drinking hand sanitizer as a substitute for alcohol. Alcohol stores were closed as part of a local lockdown to curb a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Local police said on Friday that at least nine men had died after drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer as a substitute for alcohol. 

Members of the group were reported to have lost consciousness after drinking a "high quantity" of the sanitizer mixed with water.

"Some people who are heavily addicted to alcohol had been consuming hand sanitizers for the high," said Siddharth Kaushal, the top police official for the town of Kurichedu, where the incident took place. "Alcohol is not available because of the lockdown, but hand sanitizers are easily available."

Those who died, some of whom had other health conditions, were said to have been dead on arrival after they were rushed to hospital. Others from the group survived and were later discharged.

Deaths from tainted alcohol are relatively commonplace in India, where home brewed liquor is often sold as a cheap alternative to official products. Mixtures often contain methanol – a highly toxic form of alcohol that can cause blindness and death.

India's federal government has allowed most economic activities across the country to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Coronavirus LIVE update: India cases rise to 1,701,307; death rate at 2.2%

India has recorded its worst ever single-day spike of over 57,100 coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 1,701,307. The country's death toll now stands at 36,562. With coronavirus cases rising at a record speed , several states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Mizoram have extended their lockdown till August 31. Some others like Uttar Pradesh have imposed weekend lockdowns to curb corona cases. In the wake of festivals like Bakrid and Raksha Bandhan, there will be no lockdown this weekend in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand. Andhra Pradesh has again reported record over 10,376 coronavirus cases — it's third straight daily addition of over 10,000 cases — taking its aggregate to 140,933.

Coronavirus world update: Worldometer has reported record 282,095 new cases worldwide in the past 24 hours. As many as 17,778,276 people around the world have been diagnosed with Covid-19. While more than 11,151,794 have recovered, 682,196 have died so far.