Tea with no sugar, Panadol, chloroquine and the coronavirus misinformation

On a sunny afternoon a week ago, someone on certain WhatsApp group talked about how she had been told about a woman in Ibanda who gave birth to a baby that instantly spoke and advised the people to take black tea and salt to prevent against the deadly Coronavirus.

Instantaneously, another member of the group disputed the story as a made up falsehood which had also been attributed to other areas such as Kamuli, Hoima and even South Sudan.

“In South Sudan, people are drinking black tea without sugar like their lives depend on it. Mothers are waking up their children at 2:00am to drink black tea (I do not know if 2:00am is the time the ghost child directed). South Sudan twitter is the funniest right now,” one member said.

Now that caused ripples of laughter as members of the group confirmed that these were baseless rumours. However not far away, other people were taking the message seriously.

One of the members of the group, Julie Kigongo narrated how her mother woke her up to take the concoction so that she does not get the virus.

"My mum called all of us very early in morning saying she had been called by a friend that the same baby was born in Hoima saying the same things, so she was telling us to take that water. I was so sleepy, so I woke up at 1:00pm to find out from my siblings what they thought, only to find out they had finished taking it," she said.

So many rumours have been going around in the various parts of the world about concoctions or drugs that should be taken to cure coronavirus. Unfortunately, many people have fallen for the lies.

In Fort portal, a woman who did not want her identity to be disclosed revealed that someone from Kampala told them that Panadol prevents them from getting the virus.

“Many people are stocking Panadol because they believe it is going to keep them free from the virus. However, health workers are trying hard to convince people to wash hands and stay indoors despite their high beliefs in the usage of Panadol,” she said.

It is not only in Uganda where people are taking all sorts of things in a bid to protect themselves.

In Nigeria, after President Donald Trump stated that there was a possibility of using chloroquine to treat coronavirus, many rushed to pharmacies to buy the drug before it runs out of stock.

As reported by CNN, Fabunmi, 44, decided to buy the drug so that he can be prepared and ready to use it when the need arises.

"I didn't mind paying as I just wanted to get some in case it will become necessary. I didn't want a situation where I will regret not buying it. Better to be safe than sorry," he said.

Unlike Fabumni two patients did not just stock but immediately took the medicine and overdosed on the anti-malaria drug, causing the health workers in the country to warn the citizens against self-medication.

In Iran, it was reported that over 300 people died and more than 1,000 became ill after taking toxic methanol amid rumours that it could help cure coronavirus.

According to New York Times, “in messages forwarded and forwarded again, Iranian social media accounts in Farsi falsely suggested a British school teacher and others cured themselves of the coronavirus with whiskey and honey, based on a tabloid story from early February. Mixed with messages about the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, some wrongly believed drinking high-proof alcohol would kill the virus in their bodies.”

This led to the death of hundreds and the sickening of thousands with some becoming blind.

In addition to all these, very many people have also adopted the behaviour of taking garlic as a way of preventing themselves from getting the virus.

However, WHO on its website says, “Garlic is healthy but there is NO evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the coronavirus.”

WHO also cautions there is a lot of false information going around and that people should be on the lookout.

“Antibiotics DO NOT work against viruses, antibiotics only work against bacteria. To date, there is NO specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the coronavirus,” it states.

The Ministry of Health in the country has also asked Ugandans to avoid misinformation and also follow the guidelines that it has provided so as to stop the spread of Covid-19. This means all the talk on salty tea, chloroquine, saunas and other such items that have been said to cure should be not only avoided but warned against heavily.