British Man Claims He Beat Coronavirus With Hot Toddies

Coronavirus has now reached the level of a global health emergency according to the WHO. With cases spreading around the globe and the death toll steadily rising, the race is on to come up with a cure.

While an alarming number of people mistakenly believe the respiratory disease has something to do with Mexican beer, the first Briton to contract (and beat) Coronavirus says that all it takes to fend off the deadly infection is a classic booze-based remedy.

Connor Reed, a 25-year-old Welshman living in Wuhan, the virus’ epicenter, says that the secret to beating Coronavirus (at least in his case) is a few hot toddies. According to the Sun, Reed checked into a Wuhan hospital about two months ago with trouble breathing and a bad cough, symptoms of what we now know to be Coronavirus. The British expat who’s spent the last three years in China was hospitalized for two weeks, eventually learning after he’d checked out that he was suffering from Coronavirus.

Strangely, Reed says he decided to skip out on the antibiotics he was prescribed, instead opting for an old-fashioned (and more fun) remedy. “I used the inhaler, which helped control the cough, and drank a hot whiskey with honey until that ran out,” he told the Sun. “It’s an old fashioned remedy but it seemed to do the trick.”

At first choice, swapping out antibiotics for alcohol seems like an odd and potentially dangerous way of going against a doctor’s orders. But given that there technically aren’t any vaccines or antiviral drugs tailored to fending off Coronavirus as of yet, you have to admit that Reed’s choice of remedy at least didn’t not work.

Emboldened by his defeat of the deadly virus that’s claimed at least 361 lives in China as of February 3rd, Reed says he’s going to stay in the “ghost town” of Wuhan despite opportunities to leave.

“[The Foreign Office] kept asking if I wanted a place on a flight out but I said no. I’ll stick it out here. I am proof Coronavirus can be beaten.”

So while there’s no scientifically-backed proof whatsoever to suggest that a few Hot Toddies are enough to fight off this latest global pandemic, Reed’s anecdotal evidence suggests it can’t hurt to have a few as a preventive measure if you’re planning on drinking anyway. Above all, just remember to wash your hands.