Tamil Nadu man bites into snake's corpse to 'cure' COVID, arrested

With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc across India, a man from Tamil Nadu was captured on camera, eating a snake and claiming that the reptile was a good antidote to coronavirus. The man identified only as Vadivel has been arrested and slapped a fine amounting to Rs 7,500 in the aftermath of the incident. This comes as COVID caseload in India rose to 2,77,29,247 on Saturday with 3,22,512 deaths and 2,51,78,011 recoveries. 

The “shocking” incident took place in the South Indian state’s Perumalpatti village of the Tirunelveli district. The whole episode caught the attention of environmentalists, who then alerted the police after a video of it surfaced on the internet. The now-viral clip shows Vadivel biting into the copse of the serpentine.

Meanwhile, environmentalists and biologists have claimed that eating reptiles and amphibians could turn life threating as most of them contain lethal venoms. Additionally, there is also the threat of internal harm after pathogens that these slithering beings carry. The coronavirus which jumped into the Indian territory in January last year has now spiralled to infect 2,75,55,457 people out of whom 3,18,895 people have lost their lives. 

COVID drugs update

This comes as the Defense Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) announced that it had released its 2DG anti-COVID 19 drug on May 17. In another development, it was announced that the drug has been priced at Rs 990 per sachet by Dr Reddy’s lab. However, government officials have informed that the DRDO anti-COVID drug will be provided at a discounted price for the government hospitals. In addition, the drug price is also discounted for central and state governments. The drug has been developed by DRDO scientists at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS). 

Another coronavirus drug Ivermectin, was on Friday, given a go-ahead for immediate use by Vishwajit P Rane, the Health Minister of Goa. The proposal was put forward by Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant to use the anti-parasitic drug in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. The Health Minister is certain that usage of the drug will give out positive results and the infection rate in Goa will decrease. P Rane expressed his gratitude to the Judicial Bench of Goa High Court. 

Representative Image: Pixabay