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Bali's miracle: Turning wine into hand sanitizer

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/04/08/health-coronavirus-indonesia.jpg"/><figcaption>Indonesian soldiers spray disinfectant on a statue to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Tanah Lot temple in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia, March 20, 2020. Johannes P. Christo, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>BALI - Pharmacists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are tackling a shortage of anti-coronavirus hand sanitizer by making their own unique, tropical version -- from thousands of liters of fermented palm wine. The idea was the brainchild of Bali police chief Petrus Reinhard Golose, who says he was alarmed that supplies of alcohol-based disinfectant were in short supply while prices soared for what was left on the market.He rustled up some 4,000 liters of the popular, potent beverage -- known as arak -- by asking local manufacturers to donate from their stocks, with the force also dipping into its own funds to buy up extra supplies. Staff at Bali&#x27;s Udayana University were then tasked with turning the wine into a handwash that could protect against the coronavirus. Within a week, they had managed to produce a disinfectant with a 96 percent alcohol content to meet WHO standards, according to the university.Some clove and mint oil were added to the mixture to reduce hand irritation.&quot;So far we&#x27;ve produced 10,600 bottles of hand sanitizer using arak and Bali police have given them out to people in need,&quot; Dewa Ayu Swastini, head of the university&#x27;s pharmaceutical faculty, told AFP on Wednesday.Bali has reported 49 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 2 deaths.

Pharmacists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are tackling a shortage of anti-coronavirus hand sanitizer by making their own unique, tropical version -- from thousands of liters of fermented palm wine.

Pharmacists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are tackling a shortage of anti-coronavirus hand sanitizer by making their own unique, tropical version -- from thousands of liters of fermented palm wine.