Medical staff in Iran kiss religious relic for coronavirus protection: Report

Medical personnel in a hospital in Iran were seen kissing a religious piece of cloth to protect them against coronavirus, according to a video circulating on social media.

The cloth is from the Imam Reza shrine in Iran’s Shia holy city of Mashhad. Medical staff were seen lining up in the video to kiss the cloth one after the other.

It is unclear in which Iranian hospital the video was taken.

Members of the medical team spray disinfectant to sanitize outdoor place of Imam Reza's holy shrine, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Mashhad, Iran February 27, 2020. (Reuters)

Other videos and images have been shared on social media showing a piece of cloth from the Imam Reza shrine being taken to be touched and kissed by coronavirus patients in hospitals.

Videos of a cleric giving coronavirus patients at a hospital in northern Iran a perfume to smell as a cure for the virus had previously gone viral on social media.

Videos showing Iranians kissing and licking Shia shrines prior to their closure had also gone viral on social media.

As of Wednesday, 3,993 in Iran have died from coronavirus, and there are 64,586 confirmed cases.

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