'Hundreds dead' because of coronavirus misinformation

About 5,800 people have been admitted to hospital as a result of false information related to the coronavirus on social media, according to a study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and at least 800 people may have died.

Deaths occurred after people drank methanol or alcohol-based cleaning products, wrongly believing the products to be a cure for the virus, researchers said.

In April, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested researchers try using disinfectant as a cure for COVID-19 patients, forcing doctors, scientists and cleaning-product manufacturers to publish official statements telling people not to drink or inject cleaning products.

Some victims followed advice resembling credible medical information – such as eating large amounts of garlic or ingesting large quantities of vitamins – as a way of preventing infection, the study's authors say, while others drank substances such as cow urine.

These actions all had "potentially serious implications" on their health, the researchers say.