A self-proclaimed holy man who claimed to be able to miraculously cure people all of their ailments, including Covid-19, by simply kissing their hands, recently died of Covid-19.

The man, known only as Aslam, told followers in Ratlam, India’s Madhya Pradesh state, that his “kiss-cure” was full proof and would cure them of all ailments. Unfortunately, Aslam’s wonder cure didn’t seem to work so well on himself, as on June 3 he was diagnosed with Covid-19, and sadly succumbed to the diseases the very next day. As soon as the news of his demise spread through the community, his followers started coming forward, and as it turns out, instead of curing people of coronavirus infection, his “special” kisses only helped the virus spread.

Photo: Katrina Holmgren/Unsplash

Authorities in Ratlam sprung into action as soon as the known healer tested positive, and started locating people who had recently used his services. Out of the 40 people they tested, 20 tested positive for Coronavirus. In fact, out of the 24 confirmed cases in Ratlam on June 9th, a whopping 13 had come into close contact with Aslam.

“Twenty of them, including seven of his family, have tested positive,” the health department’s Ruchika Chouha told the Times of India newspaper.

Indian officials recently found at least 29 other so-called holy men offering similar “cures”, some of which turned out to be more sure-ways of spreading the novel coronavirus faster. According to OPIndia, some of these healers have the habit of blowing into the water they make their followers drink, which only puts them at higher risk of infection.

Aslam isn’t the first “healer” to claim he had the ability to rid the world of the potentially deadly coronavirus. A few months back, a known Nigerian pastor vowed to travel to China and destroy the dreaded virus. He was smart enough not to carry out that mission, though.