Purchasing Alcohol Should Be Restricted During The Pandemic, WHO Officials Say

The coronavirus pandemic is still in full onslaught, and even as it continues to spread fast and wide, it is destroying the economy as well as the mental wellbeing of many people.

However, there seems to be an even more significant problem as many people turn to the consumption of alcohol for comfort or to wrongly battle the deadly disease based on information that "alcohol-based" sanitizers are very effective at killing the virus.

The World Health Organization has been alerted to the uprising misconception and is out to debunk them and also ensure that such does not become a common practice.

In a public statement, WHO Europe's program manager of alcohol and illicit drugs, Carina Ferreira-Borges established the notion that with people self-quarantined in their various homes, the dangers of alcoholism may become very pronounced.

She said:

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we should really ask ourselves what risks we are taking in leaving people under lockdown in their homes with a substance that is harmful both in terms of their health and the effects of their behavior on others, including violence."

The statement further included advice that the government should limit people's ability to purchase alcohol because it may even compromise people's overall health and make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.

Since liquor stores are recognized as essential businesses during the lockdown directive, this issue can be labeled one that calls for immediate attention because it poses a risk to people prone to alcoholism as well as the people living with them.

On a final note, the organization's branch in Europe pushed that if an ultimate restriction isn't possible, the public should be educated on the dangers of alcohol and that the rules governing alcohol intake and purchase should be strictly enforced.