Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Coronavirus

Coronavirus fight in Poland sees government using confiscated alcohol as disinfectant

By Travis Fedschun Fox News
Published
close
Essential services to stay open during coronavirus pandemic Video

Essential services to stay open during coronavirus pandemic

While many businesses are closed during the coronavirus pandemic, many essential services, grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals, remain open and running.

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

The fight against coronavirus in Poland has revealed that no resource will be wasted, even confiscated booze.

Poland's Ministry of Finance said Friday that some 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol were recently donated to emergency responders and health care facilities.

The donated alcohol will be used to prepare disinfectants, according to the ministry.

WHAT COUNTRIES HAVE NOT DECLARED ANY KNOWN CASES OF CORONAVIRUS?

The alcohol was originally intended to be destroyed after being confiscated as part of criminal investigations.

The Polish government donated 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol to two hospitals and a fire department on March 20.

The Polish government donated 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol to two hospitals and a fire department on March 20. (Poland's Ministry of Finance)

Photos released by the agency show workers transporting the bottles of undisclosed alcohol into trucks to be redistributed.

Some 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol have been donated to be used to help make disinfectants to fight coronavirus in Poland.

Some 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol have been donated to be used to help make disinfectants to fight coronavirus in Poland. (Poland's Ministry of Finance)

So far, officials have sent the alcohol to the University Clinical Hospital and the Provincial Specialist Children's Hospital in Olsztyn, and the state fire service.

CHINA SEES SURGE IN IMPORTED CORONAVIRUS CASES AS STUDENTS, OTHERS FLY HOME

In the coming days, the agency will transfer "another large amount of alcohol" to a hospital in Elbląg, according to the ministry.

The Polish government donated 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol to two hospitals and a fire department on March 20.

The Polish government donated 660 gallons of confiscated alcohol to two hospitals and a fire department on March 20. (Poland's Ministry of Finance)

According to the Polish Ministry of Health, there are some 563 people who have been confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus, with seven deaths in the country.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

In the U.S., some distilleries are being repurposed to help fight the virus. President Trump said at a news conference on Saturday that distilleries are "repurposing" their alcohol production to help make the sanitizer Americans need to upkeep hygiene for the virus, which can be transmitted by touching infected surfaces.

Pernod Ricard, a French company, is repurposing its alcoholic beverage plants in Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia to produce sanitizer, Trump said during the briefing, calling the move "unbelievable."

Fox News' Charlie Creitz continued to this report.