A top German virologist has claimed drinking whisky can protect against COVID-19 infection.

Dr Juergen Rissland, the head doctor at the Institute for Virology at Saarland University Hospital in Germany, went against advice from the World Health Organisation advice, which explicitly states that drinking alcohol does not protect you against COVID-19 and can be dangerous.

Speaking on the show Health Issues, Dr Rissland was asked whether regular drinking could have a preventive effect.

The presenter was passing on questions from viewers, and one wanted to know if was it a good idea to drink alcohol to kill any viruses they might have swallowed.

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“Yes, of course, that’s true,” the expert replied. “And the higher the percentage of alcohol, the better it is.

“For example, if you are a whisky lover, then that certainly isn’t a bad idea.

Virologist Jurgen Rissland, who says whisky protects against COVID-19 infection. Credit: Newsflash / Newsflash

“But of course you need to bear in mind that you can’t do that every 15 minutes, that is something else to consider.”

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“Are we really advising our viewers to drink high-proof alcohol?” the presenter interrupted.

The medic stood by his position, saying: “I would say it can’t do any harm although we need to remember that it’s not a guaranteed cure for the problem.”

Later he explained that he wanted to make it clear that the virus was susceptible to alcohol because it had a fatty coating.