Amidst the continued ban on the sale of alcohol, some substance abusers are now drinking or injecting themselves with alcohol-based sanitisers.
Medical experts have warned against this new drug trend that can be fatal in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Sanitisers are essential in the fight against COVID-19 as people must routinely keep their hands clean to avoid spreading the virus.
The abuse of sanitisers by injecting or ingesting it, could lead to damage to the brain, heart and immune system.
An addict, Mojalefa, says his battle with drugs began years ago and he has now resorted to using sanitizer despite the side effects.
“There are people who deliver syringes, sanitisers and cottonwool to us. The sanitiser is meant to be used to clean our wounds after injecting ourselves with drugs. Because we are drug addicts, we are now using sanitisers as drugs. It makes me feel numb. Someone could pinch me and I wouldn’t feel a thing. It also makes me feel sick and causes what we call downs, when the high is over it causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever and it makes me weak,” says Mojalefa.
In this video, a drug user says he injects himself with sanitiser to deal with his addiction
The Department of Health on Friday confirmed the death of 13 patients within the last 24 hours, bringing the total fatalities to 116 and the confirmed COVID-19 cases to 5 951.
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