A Kenyan governor has been criticised after putting cognac in his coronavirus care packages and falsely claiming alcohol could help stave off the virus.

Mike Sonko, the governor of Nairobi, said he would include “small bottles of Hennessy” in the food parcels handed out to people during the pandemic.

“I think from the research that has been conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and various health organisations,” he said on Tuesday, while wearing a visor to cover his face, “it is believed that alcohol plays a major role in killing the coronavirus or any sort of virus.”

He then went on to speak about the alcohol content of sanitisers.

On a section of its website dedicated to busting myths about coronavirus, the WHO says: “Drinking alcohol does not protect you against Covid-19 and can be dangerous.

“Frequent or excessive alcohol consumption can increase your risk of health problems.”

Sharing a video on Twitter of Mr Sonko speaking about the cognac in the food packs, the global CEO Amref Health Africa urged people to “dump this the way you would dump your used Covid-19 mask”.

“Misinformation being spread by an elected leader,” someone replied under the clip.

Hennessy has condemned the claim that the cognac can help protect people against coronavirus, local media reported.

“Hennessy would like to stress that the consumption of our brand or any other alcoholic beverage does not protect against the virus,” a company statement said, according to Nairobi News.

As well as disputing the idea alcohol can help people fight coronavirus, the WHO has called out other myths that have circulated during the pandemic, including the widely condemned conspiracy theory that 5G is linked to Covid-19.

There are around 240 confirmed infections of coronavirus in Kenya, which has imposed a curfew in a bid to tackle the outbreak.