Alcohol against corona? These measures help against the virus

Does alcohol really help fight the corona virus? We'll tell you what the myth is about and what measures can help against Corona.

• Since the corona virus * raged in Germany, many rumors about corona * have been spreading online
• Does alcohol actually help fight corona?
• Health Minister Jens Spahn calls the virus "alcohol sensitive"

Jens Spahn (CDU) is Minister of Health of Germany. So he has to know when he says that the new Sars-CoV-2 * coronavirus is "alcohol-sensitive". That was exactly what he said at the federal press conference last week. He stressed that Corona does not tolerate alcohol , which, given the fact that a Mexican beer brand is called "Corona", seems somehow ironic to fate. But that's not the issue.

The issue is rather whether alcohol actually helps fight the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus - and if so, how. After all, this would be a huge step in the right direction when you consider that a vaccine * may be a few months away.

Help slow the spread of the virus: please avoid the handshake as a greeting. pic.twitter.com/A4Y7RohtIz

Alcohol against corona: what the fight against the corona virus is all about

Some people in Germany obviously took the words of their health minister very seriously - and met for a drink together. In Oberwiesenthal in Saxony, hundreds of visitors celebrated the annual tobogganing together on Saturdays. Drinking against the virus, disinfectant. The thought certainly has something.

And yet: drinking alcohol does NOT help against the coronavirus *. The World Health Organization (WHO) makes this clear on its website and refutes further fake news about Corona. It also doesn't help to spray yourself with alcohol or chlorine to kill the viruses. But there is good news: The myth that alcohol helps against the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus is not entirely out of thin air.

Alcohol helps against corona - why drinking alcohol is still not a solution

Corona viruses are actually sensitive to alcohol . "Viruses, whose genetic material is covered by a layer of fat, are sensitive to fat-dissolving substances such as alcohols or surfactants," explains the Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) and continues: "Although no specific data are yet available for Sars-CoV-2 , it is highly likely that these substances will damage the virus surface and inactivate the virus. "

Media briefing on # COVID19 with @DrTedros. #coronavirus https://t.co/MohOl6pDDJ

However, this does not mean a call for a drink, but rather the disinfection of publicly used areas and the hands. Disinfectants usually contain various alcohols.

Alcohol against corona? What really helps against the corona virus

For private use, the motto is: Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, disinfect them and do not host or attend any corona parties. Alcohol can keep the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 * away if used correctly (e.g. in disinfectants). The fact that drinking alcohol protects against the disease Covid-19 is unfortunately only a crazy idea.

* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network

List of rubric lists: © Axel Heimken / dpa