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OK, this one has to be a troll.

A new image going viral on social media claims to be a diagram showing the inner workings of a 5G chip that's been inserted into coronavirus vaccines-part of a longstanding online conspiracy theory.

However, what the image actually shows is a circuit board for a guitar pedal.

A Boss Metal Zone guitar pedal, to be exact.

Coronavirus misinformation is nothing new on the internet. Even the weird (and false!) claims that 5G technology causes COVID-19 have become so commonplace on social media that major platforms have had to take action against these specific conspiracies.

However, this latest coronavirus 5G conspiracy theory really takes the cake. It's so over-the-top it truly comes off like a joke.

The image took off on social media when user Mario Fusco shared it in a tweet, saying that the conspiracy is being shared in Italy. The link in his screenshot points to an anonymous self-publishing platform, Telegraph. Attempts to find a source elsewhere were unsuccessful. However, the r/guitarpedels subreddit certainly loves this story.

So, this whole thing is likely from a troll. After all, the diagram still includes terms like "bass," "gain," "treble," and "footswitch." Even if you're not musically inclined, those words should be a giveaway that maybe this isn't actually a secret 5G coronavirus vaccine microchip.

But, also, if we know anything about conspiracy theories, it's that none of that matters. It won't stop the image and accompanying misinformation from being passed off as truth by some less savvy corners of the internet (hello, local Facebook Groups).

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That viral image of a 5G chip 'hidden' in COVID vaccines? It's actually a guitar pedal.

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OK, this one has to be a troll. A new image going viral on social media claims to be a diagram showing the inner workings of a 5G chip that's been inserted into coronavirus vaccines-part of a longstanding online conspiracy theory. However, what the image actually shows is a circuit board for a guitar pedal.

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The claim was published here on Facebook on March 30, 2020. It has been shared 34,000 times.

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When Dian heard that the coronavirus had arrived in Indonesia at the end of March, she stocked her kitchen with ginger, turmeric and lemongrass.

However, the 37-year-old mother of two wasn't using the spices for cooking. Instead, she boiled them down into a traditional herbal drink called "jamu."

Read more: Opinion: The politics of unproven cures

Dian and her family now drink the herbal mixture every day. "Since we regularly drink jamu, my body feels fresher and fitter," Dian, who lives in West Java, told DW.

"I got information about jamu online. I don't believe claims that it can fight COVID-19, but I do believe it naturally improves and regenerates our cells," Dian said, adding she drinks the mixture to boost her immunity.

Dian is not alone. Herbal drinks in Indonesia have surged in popularity during the pandemic, as they are affordable and easy to make at home.

Sido Muncul, a major Indonesian herbal medicine producer, reported a spike in sales in the first half of 2020, driven mainly by vitamin and ginger drinks.

However, as Indonesia experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases, the prevalence of false cures and quick fixes presents a public health problem.

On Thursday, Indonesia recorded a record high 3,622 new COVID-19 infections and 134 fatalities within 24 hours, according to the Indonesian Health Ministry. The total number of cases is now over 184,000, with 7,750 deaths and 132,055 recoveries.

Hoaxes and quack cures

In August, an interview was posted on Indonesian YouTube with Hadi Pranoto, a man claiming to be a microbiology professor touting a COVID-19 cure he concocted from herbs. Pranoto said his herbal drink could cure COVID-19 in three days, and would help the government fight the pandemic.

The interview was conducted by a popular Indonesian YouTuber, Anji, who has over 3.6 million subscribers, according to the Jakarta Post. YouTube since removed the interview, and police are investigating Anji and Pranoto for spreading misinformation.

Read more: WHO cautions against use of traditional herbs in Africa

Government offices have also been involved in promoting dubious remedies. In July, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture promoted an aromatherapy necklace with eucalyptus leaves it labeled as "anti-coronavirus."

Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo claimed that wearing the necklace for 15 minutes could kill 42% of the virus, and 30 minutes would kill 80% of the virus.

The minister's claims drew widespread skepticism from Indonesia's scientific community. The ministry later walked back its claims, saying that the aromatherapy products are only meant to prevent the disease. However, it did not revise the claim on the product's label.

Experts warn that such claims mislead the public into feeling protected, which may lead people to ignore health protocols like social distancing and wearing masks.

Herbal medicine 'no cure'

Yohanes Wibowo, an Indonesian scientist and a PhD candidate at the Department of Experimental Pharmacology at Heidelberg University in Germany, told DW that the ministry's aromatherapy claims have no scientific backing.

"I couldn't find any publication showing the ministry had done vitro tests on a virus culture, let alone clinical trials," Wibowo said, adding that there is no herbal or non-herbal medicine that is proven to be 100% effective against coronavirus.

"There are lists of medicines that are in the process of clinical trials, yet none of them show a result that can be categorized as an anti-coronavirus medicine," he said.

Professor Amin Soebandrio from the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jakarta said that herbal medicines are not meant to cure.

"If there is a claim that it can cure a patient with COVID-19, that is definitely not true," he told DW, adding that herbal medicine manufacturers should not make excessive claims about their products.

He also urged the public to be more critical of claims of herbal cures.

"It is better for us to see herbal products as supplements, to improve health and the immune system," he said.

Read more: Germany: Scientists test artemisia plant against coronavirus

Research on herbs and coronavirus

Still, herbal remedies have been part daily life in Indonesia for centuries. Indonesian scientists have been researching COVID-19 treatments using natural ingredients, such as those found in jamu drinks.

One research project is being conducted by a team from the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) and the Association of the Indonesian Doctors for the Development of Traditional and Herbal Medicines.

According to LIPI's website, the team is looking at how two types of herbal medicines modulate the immune system. Ingredients include the fungus Cordyceps militaris, and a combination of ginger and herbal plants.

Clinical trials were completed in August, and the data is being checked for accuracy, before being passed on for approval by Indonesia's Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM). The LIPI has said it will not make any claims of efficacy until the BPOM issues its findings.

With reporting by Prihardani Ganda Tuah Purba in Jakarta.

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Indonesia's false coronavirus 'cures' draw concern from scientists | DW | 04.09.2020

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When Dian heard that the coronavirus had arrived in Indonesia at the end of March, she stocked her kitchen with ginger, turmeric and lemongrass. However, the 37-year-old mother of two wasn't using the spices for cooking. Instead, she boiled them down into a traditional herbal drink called "jamu."

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Virgin Coconut Oil - antiviral and immunomodulatory

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Virgin Coconut Oil - antiviral and immunomodulatory

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ongoing trials by dost reveal virgin coconut oil’s promising results on treating

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Ongoing trials by DOST reveal virgin coconut oil's promising results on treating, managing COVID

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Virgin coconut oil can possibly help prevent, manage and treat COVID-19 patients, research says. By RHIA GRANA

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COVID-19, hand washing & coconut oil | Acts of Magis: Ateneans at the Forefront of a Pandemic

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Treatment for the novel coronavirus is a lot like the flu. Patients are advised to rest up and drink plenty of fluids.

For more severe COVID-19 cases, it's best to get to a hospital, as people who are having trouble breathing may need oxygen support.

The antiviral drug remdesivir is helping some people recover faster from their COVID-19 infections, but it's not proving much help for people who have some of the most life-threatening cases of this virus.

Hydroxychloroquine - an anti-malarial drug which has been pushed by President Trump as both a potential treatment for and prevention to COVID-19 infection - is not faring very well in clinical trials so far, and it is triggering serious heart issues in some patients.

The World Health Organization recently temporarily suspended its study of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, citing potential safety concerns, and another large-scale trial of the drug as a potential preventative treatment for healthcare workers has also been put on hold. France, Italy and Belgium all stopped using hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus patients this week.

There is no vaccine for the coronavirus yet.

Conspiracy theorists and conservative pundits online have suggested Gates somehow masterminded the pandemic, pointing to the fact that the billionaire philanthropist has been eerily warning of a scenario much like COVID-19 for years.

"It's ironic that you take someone who's doing their best to get the world ready and putting, in my case, billions of dollars into these tools for infectious diseases, and really trying to solve broadly infectious diseases - including those that cause pandemics," Gates said in an interview with Chinese broadcaster GCTN. "But we're in a crazy situation, so there's going to be crazy rumors."

As Business Insider's Gabby Landsverk previously reported, "the 'miracle mineral solution,' as it's known online (MMS for short), is a solution of 28% sodium chlorite in distilled water."

The substance is not a cure for the coronavirus, but it is dangerous to human health, and it can prompt severe vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, and acute liver failure.

Outside the body, however, bleach-based cleaners are helpful for keeping surfaces virus-free.

The World Health Organization said "bleach/chlorine-based disinfectants, ether solvents, 75% ethanol, peracetic acid and cholorform" are all great ways to kill the novel coronavirus on surfaces, where transmission is possible, if not probable.

But these chemicals are dangerous when people put them on their skin, under their noses, or in their mouths, and they have "little or no impact on the virus" that way, the WHO said.

Once again, ignore any miracle cocaine coronavirus cures that might pop up on Facebook.

The truth is that cocaine is a highly addictive substance and can cause respiratory problems. That is certainly no help when you're dealing with a virus that (in severe cases) can make it difficult to breathe.

French hospitals have seen a surprisingly low number of COVID-19 patients who are daily smokers, leading some clinicians there to wonder, might nicotine help prevent coronavirus infections?

Public health experts don't think that's the case, though.

"Smoking cigarettes can leave you more vulnerable to respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19," the US Food and Drug Administration said in a coronavirus q&a, posted online.

Smoking, instead of helping fight off coronavirus infections, "puts people at higher risk for being put on a ventilator, being in an ICU, and for dying," Van Kerkhove told reporters earlier this month. "We know the harms of smoking and we know that smokers, if they do get infected with COVID-19, have a higher risk of severe disease."

In fact, researchers in China recently noted that "smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have severe symptoms of COVID-19 and approximately 2.4 times more likely to be admitted to an ICU, need mechanical ventilation, or die compared to non-smokers," as Insider's Anna Medaris Miller previously reported.

French researchers are currently investigating whether wearing nicotine patches might help protect people from catching the coronavirus. Evidence so far suggests - quite to the contrary - that nicotine exposure, even when smokeless, makes COVID-19 infections more likely to take hold in a person's body, not less.

"If you're ill, your family members are ill, stay home, don't spread those diseases," Amler said.

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20 bogus claims about the coronavirus, including a fake marijuana cure, and false links between Bill Gates and 5G

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Treatment for the novel coronavirus is a lot like the flu. Patients are advised to rest up and drink plenty of fluids. For more severe COVID-19 cases, it's best to get to a hospital, as people who are having trouble breathing may need oxygen support.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) - Virgin coconut oil (VCO) trials may now be conducted on coronavirus patients of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced on Wednesday.

" Ang good news, yun pong sa PGH, which is for moderate and severe cases, ay inaprubahan na finally ng ethics board ng UP Manila," DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña told the regular Laging Handa virtual briefing. "So I am just waiting for the report that they have already started."

[Translation: The good news is that the (VCO trials) in PGH, which is for moderate and severe (COVID-19) cases, have finally been approved by the ethics board of the UP (University of the Philippines) Manila.]

Fortunato explained that the patients will be given VCO for 14 days to test whether the substance has a good effect on them.

"As I have indicated earlier, they are planning for 100 patients," he added. "Half will be on VCO, and half will not be given the VCO for comparison purposes."

The DOST chief also noted that while VCO trials in the Santa Rosa Community Hospital in Laguna had started almost a month ago, they are unable to meet the recommended number of 90 patients enrolled in the trial as the arrival of patients there is slow.

"What we did was to include the two other, shall we say hospitals or centers who have patients and, fortunately, Medical City has set up just two weeks ago a facility in Santa Rosa and they agreed that they will participate," said dela Peña. The quarantine center of Santa Rosa shall also provide additional patients for the trial, he added.

The DOST announced in early April it will begin looking into the possible benefits of virgin coconut oil on COVID-19 patients.

In February, Ateneo de Manila University Professor Emeritus Fabian Antonio Dayrit and Dr. Mary Newport of Spring Hill Neonatolody in Florida, USA proposed a clinical study on the use of coconut oil to treat patients, saying it "is affordable and virtually risk-free, and the potential benefits are enormous."

To date, the Philippines has almost 19,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Over 6.3 million have caught the disease worldwide.

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Virgin coconut oil trials for PGH COVID-19 patients approved

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) - Virgin coconut oil (VCO) trials may now be conducted on coronavirus patients of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced on Wednesday.

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《華盛頓郵報》旗下的查核組織The Fact Checker近日發布 調查報導 ，記者運用國際事實查核串聯的新冠肺炎事實查核資料庫，並透過採訪美國官員、科學家和醫學專家，破解「羥氯奎寧」如何瞬間被政治人物誇大渲染為治療新冠肺炎的靈丹妙藥。

羥氯奎寧，以及同家族的氯奎寧（Chloroquine），本來是用於治療紅斑性狼瘡、類風濕性關節炎與瘧疾，是問世已久的藥物。然而，不具科學知識的政治人物卻過度宣傳其神奇療效，儘管科學和醫學界仍在探索其療效，尚未有確切數據和結論。

今年2月，一篇指羥氯奎寧（Hydroxychloroquine）可治療新冠肺炎（COVID-19）的中國研究迅速傳播全球，以美國總統川普為代表的政治人物大肆宣揚羥氯奎寧的神奇療效。但是，科學界指出，羥氯奎寧的療效目前仍待科學界證實，盲目推廣恐導致深遠的危害。
神奇特效藥的崛起
中國1月初開始羥氯奎寧用於新冠患者治療的臨床試驗。2月中，《人民日報》報導指中國專家證實羥氯奎寧對新冠肺炎有一定療效，引發了全球關於羥氯奎寧的關注；隨後，法國馬賽的研究團隊3月初發表 論文 ，指「患者服用羥氯奎寧後，病毒在五天後消失」。

3月中，美國疫情擴大，羥氯奎寧成為美國名人力推的藥品。The Fact Checker調查發現，當時是區塊鏈投資者James Todaro先是推文表示正在共筆有關羥氯奎寧治療新冠肺炎的文章，特斯拉CEO馬斯克（Elon Musk）隨後 轉推 該推文，引來眾多媒體關注。

圖1：特斯拉CEO馬斯克在3月中轉推關於羥氯奎寧治療新冠肺炎的文章，讓羥氯奎寧備受矚目。擷自Elon Musk推特

哈佛大學蕭倫斯坦中心（Harvard Kennedy Shorenstein Center）主任Joan Donovan 指出 ，自從一位「專家」3月18日於福斯電視台上大談「羥氯奎寧可100%治療COVID-19」後，Google搜尋結果顯示美國民眾開始瘋狂搜尋「奎寧」與「通寧水」（含有奎寧）的資料，以為喝通寧水也可以預防新冠肺炎。

圖2：自從一位專家在美國福斯電視台說出「羥氯奎寧可100%治療COVID-19」後，關於奎寧與通寧水的網路搜尋大幅增加。擷自Joan Donovan推特

美國總統川普也成為了羥氯奎寧最強而有力的宣傳者。他於3月19日白宮記者會推銷羥氯奎寧，指該藥品「可能會徹底顛覆疫情（Game changer）」，之後也持續在推特上與記者會上多次推崇該藥品。

圖3：美國總統川普迄今關於羥氯奎寧的談話，在在顯示他對該藥品治療新冠肺炎的信心。擷自華盛頓郵報

在美國，只要符合美國食品藥品監督管理局（FDA）的規範，醫生可以開立羥氯奎寧來治療新冠病患，美國政府則戰略性儲備了超過3000萬劑羥氯奎寧。

然而，美國查核組織PolitiFact和The Fact Checker均指出，雖然美國總統與部分醫學專家堅信羥氯奎寧的療效，但「有更多的醫學專家」持反對態度。
療效缺乏科學證據
美國查核組織PolitiFact 指出 ，儘管包括世界衛生組織、美國FDA都對羥氯奎寧的療效具有信心，但迄今，除了上述中國與法國的兩篇研究，目前各國其他研究機構並未獲得相同的結論。

不只如此，一個上海團隊與另一組巴黎團隊企圖分別重現上述同儕研究的試驗，包括給予病患相同的藥物與遵照相同的治療程序，但皆無法成功殺死新冠病毒。在 上海實驗中，服用羥氯奎寧的病患復原情況並未優於未服用藥物的患者；而 巴黎試驗 中，八成病患在治療的第六天仍檢測為陽性。

針對法國馬賽宣稱奎寧對治療新冠肺炎有效的研究，查核組織指出，《國際抗微生物藥物期刊》（ International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents）和《全球藥物抗藥性監測》已在4月3日，發表 撤下此學術論文的聲明 ，聲明指出，該論文內容並未達到其學術界期望的標準，也沒通過同儕審核程序。

巴西政治人物也帶頭宣傳羥氯奎寧。巴西五家查核組織日前發布聯合 公開信 ，指控巴西政治人物，不應該在沒有科學證據的支持下，輕易告訴民眾羥氯奎寧有妙用，造成民眾瘋狂搶購。
民眾誤用羥氯奎寧的風險
面對外界對於羥氯奎寧的質疑，川普曾公開 表示 「（就算羥氯奎寧沒法有效治療新冠疫情）又會怎麼樣？」這種態度，讓科學界和醫學界無法認同。

專家指出，原本依賴羥氯奎寧與氯奎寧的狼瘡、風濕性關節炎與瘧疾患者首當其衝。由於羥氯奎寧等藥品被視為COVID-19特效藥而被民眾、政府囤貨，真正需要的病患面臨斷藥危機。

The Fact Checker引述馬里蘭大學化學教授Katherine Radtke警告，羥氯奎寧有心律不整的副作用，不適合有心臟問題的人服用。但有些新冠肺炎患者伴隨心臟發炎的情況，這一類患者若服用羥氯奎寧，反而會進一步增加心臟負擔，導致心臟驟停（Cardiac arrest），面臨死亡風險。

她強調，尤其有些人根本不知道自己有心臟疾病，如果服用羥氯奎寧，後果不堪設想。

PolitiFact指出，目前全球研究團隊都還在研究、研發其他可能治療新冠肺炎的藥物，但對於羥氯奎寧的過度關注，可能會導致其他有前景的治療或藥物研發遭到忽視；此外，民眾也可能誤以為特效藥已經問世，而輕忽了日常的防疫。

美國亞利桑那州3月底傳出了一起 悲劇 ，一對60多歲的夫婦因為看到川普在記者會上提到羥氯奎寧的療效，因此喝了含有氯奎寧的魚缸清潔劑，想要預防感染新冠肺炎，結果先生中毒身亡，太太仍在接受治療中。

截至4月15日，新冠肺炎仍然沒有特效藥。政治人物應該提供給民眾真實的資訊，面對疫情進行危機處理，必須依據科學來防疫，而不是渲染神丹妙藥，也不應該以假訊息來安撫民心。

【更新資訊 2020/4/30】

美國媒體《政客》（Politico） 報導，美國國家衛生院與維吉尼亞大學支持的一項 研究 顯示，服用羥氯奎寧的病患死亡率高於僅接受常規治療的患者。該研究追蹤368位因新冠肺炎而住院的退休軍人，當中接受治療並輔以羥氯奎寧藥物的病患，死亡率為28%；相比未服用羥氯奎寧的病患死亡率為11%。

該研究並未追蹤羥氯奎寧的副作用，但研究者表示目前顯示該藥物可能會傷害患者的其他器官。這篇研究已經遞交《新英格蘭醫藥雜誌》（New England Journal of Medicine），但還沒經過同儕審查。

另據《美聯社》 報導，本月稍早，巴西科學家才喊停了一個關於羥氯奎寧能否治療新冠肺炎的部分 研究 。在實驗中，四分之一接受較高劑量羥氯奎寧（一天兩次600毫克，連續十天）的受試者出現了心律不整的問題。

《哥德堡郵報》（Göteborgs-Posten）4月初 指出 ，包括薩爾格林斯卡醫院（Sahlgrenska University Hospital）等愈來愈多瑞典醫院決定停止使用羥氯奎寧治療新冠肺炎患者。主因是擔心嚴重的副作用，且其對於新冠病毒的療效仍未獲證實。
傳染全球的不實訊息
關於羥氯奎寧的不實訊息，查核中心透過 新冠事實資料庫 搜尋，整理如下：

【印度】茴香花（Kalonji）種子含有100%的羥氯奎寧，吃茴香花種子與蜂蜜可以治療新冠肺炎。
查核結果：錯誤
茴香花種子含有瑞香醌（Thymoquinone），但沒有羥氯奎寧。且尚未有科學證據支持羥氯奎寧對於新冠肺炎的療效。
看印度查核組織Newschecker報吿： https://reurl.cc/9EVOZV

【印度】著名的印度化學家Prafulla Chandra Roy研發出羥氯奎寧
查核結果：錯誤
早在17世紀秘魯人就開始使用金雞納樹（Cinchona）含有奎寧的樹皮治療發燒。至於羥氯奎寧是於1934在美國出現。
看印度查核組織FactCrescendo報吿： https://reurl.cc/X6L4lj

【巴西】美國醫生Vladimir Zelenko成功使用羥氯奎寧、鋅、阿奇黴素（Azithromycin）治療新冠肺炎
查核結果：錯誤
Zelenko醫生的研究並未發表於任何科學期刊，也沒有提出任何實體證據證明其以羥氯奎寧等藥物治療新冠肺炎，完全是其個人的說法。
看巴西查核組織 Estadão Verifica報吿： https://reurl.cc/qdkOOR

【哥倫比亞】羥氯奎寧與阿奇黴素可以治療新冠肺炎
查核結果：未證實
雖然現在有一些相關實驗，但仍屬早期且規模較少，其研究過程也有一些方法論的爭議。關於羥氯奎寧與阿奇黴素的療效試驗仍在進行中。
看哥倫比亞查核組織La Silla Vacía報吿： https://reurl.cc/rxLQ1y

【巴西】巴西衛生監管局批准羥氯奎寧作為治療新冠肺炎的藥品
查核結果：部分錯誤
巴西衛生部僅批准醫生在治療新冠肺炎重症患者時可以使用羥氯奎寧。除此之外，醫生不得使用羥氯奎寧治療新冠患者，也不允許藥局販賣羥氯奎寧。
看巴西查核組織Aos Fatos報吿： https://reurl.cc/8GqW5o

【美國】前紐約市長朱利安尼（Rudy Giuliani）在2月初花了200萬美元買進羥氯奎寧藥廠諾華（Novatis）股票
查核結果：錯誤
朱利安尼曾在2006年向諾華收取發言人的費用。但除此之外，並沒有公開資訊顯示朱利安尼持有諾華股票；朱利安尼本人也否認該說法
看美國查核組織PolitiFact報吿： https://reurl.cc/lVv9oE

華盛頓郵報The Fact Checker〈How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 - and the consequences that followed〉

美國查核組織PolitiFact〈Hydroxychloroquine and coronavirus: what you need to know〉
美國疾病控制與預防中心〈Severe Illness Associated with Using Non-Pharmaceutical Chloroquine Phosphate to Prevent and Treat Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)〉

美國查核組織PolitiFact〈Drinking chloroquine fish-tank cleaner won't stop the coronavirus. It might kill you〉

紐約時報〈Ignoring Expert Opinion, Trump Again Promotes Use of Hydroxychloroquine〉

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新冠肺炎疫情的事實查核-羥氯奎寧如何被政治人物誇大為神藥靈丹

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《華盛頓郵報》旗下的查核組織The Fact Checker近日發布 調查報導 ，記者運用國際事實查核串聯的新冠肺炎事實查核資料庫，並透過採訪美國官員、科學家和醫學專家，破解「羥氯奎寧」如何瞬間被政治人物誇大渲染為治療新冠肺炎的靈丹妙藥。 ...

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A researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) works on herbal medicine for possible treatment of Covid-19 at the institute's laboratory in South Tangerang, Banten, on May 6. (Antara Photo /Muhammad Iqbal)

Jakarta. Indonesian health authorities are trialing quinine as a possible treatment of Covid-19 while also acquiring other kinds of medication touted as promising drugs in some other countries, a senior official has said.

The government has previously bought Avigan and hydroxychloroquine and is currently in the process to acquire Remdesivir.

"Other than that, we also intend to develop medicines using our own herbs and biodiversity. One of the candidate treatments being trialed is quinine," Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said in a recent interview with Beritasatu TV.

Quinine, bitter pill made of the bark of the cinchona tree, was originally developed to cure malaria. It has been rarely used as medicine since its synthetic form named chloroquine was invented as prescription medicine for malaria.

"We don't know yet if quinine is an effective treatment for Covid-19 in Indonesia. The point is that we are open to any possibility of cure," Bambang said in the TV's Interview with Claudius Boekan program.

"We are conducting clinical trials of various treatments that have been applied in other countries, and quinine comes as an alternative of our own," Bambang said.

He didn't specify how many patients were involved in the quinine trials.

Indonesia is also developing Covid-19 vaccine with the support of the Eijkman Institute, but a prototype won't be available before March next year at the soonest, Bambang said.

"The Eijkman Institute has experience in researching coronavirus of different types during the past outbreaks. Now with their knowledge in Covid-19, institute chairman Professor Amin Subandrio told me in March it would take at least one year to develop a vaccine," Bambang said.

If Indonesia or other countries manage to come up with a workable vaccine, the next major task will be to mass-produce it, he said.

"And this is a big country, so that [state-owned pharmaceutical company] Biofarma must get prepared to produce vaccine in a massive scale for immediate distribution among the people," Bambang said.

Indonesia has a total of 17,025 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections as of Saturday, including 1,089 deaths and 3,911 patients who have recovered from the disease.

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Indonesia Trials Quinine as Covid-19 Treatment

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A researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) works on herbal medicine for possible treatment of Covid-19 at the institute's laboratory in South Tangerang, Banten, on May 6. (Antara Photo /Muhammad Iqbal) Jakarta. Indonesian health authorities are trialing quinine as a possible treatment of Covid-19 while also acquiring other kinds of medication touted as promising drugs in some other countries, a senior official has said.

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https://fever-tree.com/en_US/article/quinine-and-coronavirus

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As scientists race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, Beijing has been championing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a way to treat the disease.

A recent white paper released by the Chinese government claimed that 92% of the country's Covid-19 cases were treated in some way with it.

TCM is one of the world's oldest forms of medical practice and includes a range of treatments from herbal concoctions to acupuncture to Tai Chi.

It is hugely popular in China across the generations, although occasionally fierce debates erupt online about its use.

How Chinese traditional medicine helped beat malaria

Chinese medicine plant secrets probed

Experts say China is seeking to expand the appeal of TCM both at home and abroad, but healthcare professionals remain sceptical of its usefulness.

Overall effectiveness inconclusive - US

China's National Health Commission has a special TCM chapter in its coronavirus guidelines, while state media have been highlighting its alleged role in past outbreaks such as Sars in 2003.

Six traditional remedies have been advertised as Covid-19 treatments, the two prominent ones being Lianhua Qingwen - containing 13 herbs such as forsythia suspense and rhodiola rose - and Jinhua Qinggan - which was developed during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and is made of 12 components including honeysuckle, mint and liquorice.

TCM's supporters argue that there is no downside to using them but experts say rigorous scientific tests are needed before such formulas are deemed safe.

The US National Institutes of Health said that while it may help with symptom relief, its overall effectiveness against the coronavirus is inconclusive.

"For TCM there is no good evidence and therefore its use is not just unjustified, but dangerous," Edzard Ernst, a retired UK-based researcher of complementary medicines, was quoted as saying in Nature journal recently.

Nevertheless, TCM is growing in China and seeing an increase in demand internationally. China's State Council last year estimated that the TCM industry would be worth $420bn (£337bn) by the end of 2020.

President Xi is said to be a "hardcore fan" of the ancient practice and has called it a "treasure of Chinese civilisation".

But, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, notes that "safety and efficacy issues plague TCM sector and most Chinese people still prefer modern medicine over TCM".

China's National Institute for Food and Drug Control last year found toxins in some TCM samples.

Soft power play

Despite Beijing's persistent efforts to internationalise TCM, many people outside China remain unaware of it.

Critics say China is now using the pandemic as a way to promote it abroad - an accusation that has been denied in state media.

However China has been sending TCM supplies and practitioners alongside conventional drugs and equipment to Africa, Central Asia and Europe.

"We are willing to share the 'Chinese experience' and 'Chinese solution' of treating Covid-19, and let more countries get to know Chinese medicine, understand Chinese medicine, and use Chinese medicine," Yu Yanhong, deputy head of China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said in March.

Mr Huang believes China's promotion of TCM abroad amounts to a soft power push.

"The government narrative that portrays TCM as being effective against Covid-19 also serves to promote the superiority of China's anti-Covid approach, at a time when Western approaches appear to be ineffective in containing the spread of the virus," he said.

TCM's international profile rose last year after the WHO formally recognised it following years of lobbying by China - a move condemned by the international medical community.

The WHO then became embroiled in further controversy after it removed a warning about the use of traditional remedies to treat Covid-19 from its English- and Chinese-language recommendations.

But a lack of standards and almost no clinical trials have hampered the widespread adoption of TCM. In May Swedish authorities tested Lianhua Qingwen samples and found they only contained menthol.

Chinese actress' death sparks cancer treatment debate

Taiwan's 2000-year-old knife massage

Links with wildlife trade

TCM is also the subject of several controversies and Covid-19 has put the spotlight on the industry's links with the wildlife trade.

China's National Health Commission was criticised after it recommended injections containing bear bile powder as a coronavirus treatment.

China recently banned the use of pangolins, an endangered species which is used in folk medicine for its scales.

But wildlife conservationists worry the rising popularity of TCM products will drive a surge in illegal wildlife trafficking.

"Even if these endangered species have some treatment value, we should use botanical products as alternatives in the TCM practice," Dr Lixing Lao, honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong's School of Chinese Medicine, told the BBC.

Hope for pangolins as protection boosted in China

Coronavirus: Pangolins found to carry related strains

Meanwhile some heavy-handed attempts by the state media and authorities to promote TCM appear to have backfired.

County officials in Yunnan province drew public ire in March after it was reported that students were forced to take a traditional medicine as a prerequisite for returning to school.

More recently, a draft regulation issued by Beijing's city government that seeks to punish people for "defaming" TCM sparked strong backlash online.

"Science can stand up to questioning. Traditional Chinese medicine cannot be questioned, so traditional Chinese medicine is not science," one user commented on Weibo.

Dr Lao says the only way for TCM to become accepted globally is "via scientific evidence, rather than propaganda".

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China promotes traditional medicine amid Covid-19

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As scientists race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, Beijing has been championing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a way to treat the disease. A recent white paper released by the Chinese government claimed that 92% of the country's Covid-19 cases were treated in some way with it.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2583426/

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The latest bizarre claim surrounding the COVID-19 infodemic is that kalonji seeds (Nigella Sativa) can cure the life-threatening respiratory infection.

The viral claim further states that since kalonji has 100% hydroxychloroquine, it is effective in treating a coronavirus infection. The viral posts recommend consumption of half a teaspoon of kalonji seeds with honey to prevent a coronavirus infection.

The hoax is gaining popularity owing to the fact that US President Donald Trump has been cheerleading for Hydroxychloroquine for a while now.

Trump's constant recommendation of the drug has resulted in many Americans to stock up the drug, irrespective of whether they need it or not. China, Europe and South Korea recommend it as one of the effective treatments for COVID-19 patients.

Early in March, Trump promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, saying: "I sure as hell think we ought to give it a try." He also tweeted that the use of the drug in combination with azithromycin, an antibiotic, could be "one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine".

Claim:

Kalonji or Nigella Sativa seeds have 100 per cent hydroxychloroquine, and its consumption with honey can prevent coronavirus.

Fact Check:

The claim is misleading. The posts come with a video clip of a broadcast by Fox News. The news reporter speaks to a guest about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on coronavirus patients. There is an image attached to the clip which says kalonji seeds can prevent infection from Coronavirus.
What Are Kalonji (Nigella Sativa) Seeds?

According to a study titled 'A review on the therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb' published on Asian Pacific Journal Of Biomedicine, Nigella sativa is a widely used medicinal plant throughout the world.

It is very popular in various traditional systems of medicine like Unani and Tibb, Ayurveda and Siddha. Seeds and oil have a long history of folklore usage in various systems of medicines and food.

The seeds of N. Sativa have been widely used in the treatment of different diseases and ailments. It has been widely used as antihypertensive, liver tonics, diuretics, digestive, anti-diarrheal, appetite stimulant, analgesics, anti-bacterial and skin disorders.

Can kalonji Prevent Infection From Coronavirus?

According to a study done in Algeria, the compounds nigellidine and alpha-hederin 'maybe' effective against SARS-CoV-2 virus.

However, it is just one lab study and many more studies including clinical trials would be needed to say for sure that these compounds and hence nigella seeds are indeed effective against COVID-19. The study is still in the preprint phase.

According to an article written by Dr Shakil Moidin, an Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologist from Saudi Arabia, Nigella Sativa seed oil extracts contain Thymoquinone (TQ) chemical compound which is known for its immune modulation capability.

TQ through immunomodulation and its other health benefits can be definitely considered to be a drug to prevent or to treat the viral infection caused by COVID-19 causing coronavirus SARS- CoV-2. Dr Moidin, however, writes that future clinical trials conducted using TQ will unravel how exactly we can use it in the current COVID-19 pandemic state.

Other studies suggest that Nigella Sativa can provide therapeutic relief from ailments such as cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, bacterial infections, pneumonia and skin disorders.

But nowhere is it found that kalonji or Nigella Sativa is the source of hydroxychloroquine. None of these studies could confirm that kalonji can prevent infection from coronavirus.

Can Hydroxychloroquine Work Against COVID-19?

The US health officials have clarified that use of Chloroquine as a drug against COVID-19 is only anecdotal and much more study is needed.

A new French study indicates that chloroquine might help. But even its authors have acknowledged the study is small and the findings are preliminary.

The study states that "hydroxychloroquine is efficient in clearing viral nasopharyngeal carriage of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients in only three to six days, in most patients."

The study however also talks about its limitations. "Our study has some limitations including small sample size, limited long-term outcome follow-up, and dropout of six patients from the study, however in the current context, we believe that our results should be shared with the scientific community," it reads.

WHO's Stance

WHO maintains that it does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for COVID-19. However, there are several ongoing clinical trials that include both western and traditional medicines.

Antibiotics do not work against viruses, they only work on bacterial infections. COVID-19 is caused by a virus, so antibiotics do not work. Antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment of COVID-19. They should only be used as directed by a physician to treat a bacterial infection.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343 Also Read: Fact Check: Viral WhatsApp Forward Claiming Lemon, Baking Soda Can Kill Coronavirus Is Fake
Therefore, there is no evidence yet that Kalonji seeds and prevent COVID-19.

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kalonji seeds honey covid-19 hydroxychloroquine

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Fact Check: Can Kalonji Seeds In Combination With Honey Cure COVID-19?

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The latest bizarre claim surrounding the COVID-19 infodemic is that kalonji seeds (Nigella Sativa) can cure the life-threatening respiratory infection. The viral claim further states that since kalonji has 100% hydroxychloroquine, it is effective in treating a coronavirus infection. The viral posts recommend consumption of half a teaspoon of kalonji seeds with honey to prevent a coronavirus infection.

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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-group-hosts-cow-urine-party-says-covid-19-due-to-meat-eaters/article31070516.ece

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防疫茶配方（均可在中藥房取得）：薄荷1.

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防疫茶配方（均可在中藥房取得）：薄荷1.5錢、防風2錢、黃耆3錢、甘草1錢、藿香2錢、金銀花3錢、荊芥1錢、炒白朮3錢、紫蘇葉2錢

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There are three kinds of liquids that are part of conversations as antidotes to the coronavirus pandemic. Hand sanitisers, vodka, and gaumutra. But gaumutra or cow urine is the cheapest to get hold of, no matter how scientific, because of all the cows India has managed to save since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014.

Cow urine is a great political leveller. Unlike the hand sanitiser and vodka, cow urine has a unique political history. From hyper-secular Congress leader Digvijaya Singh to the ministers in Modi's cabinet, cow urine has won many fans. It finds its way into even Congress election manifestos.

So, no wonder that at a time when all medical resources need to be focussed on battling the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, there is a small group of pseudo-science and WhatsApp enthusiasts advocating the virtues of gaumutra, as a disinfectant and preventive measure, if not cure. Among these are the head of a Hindu organisation, a Union minister of state, and a BJP MLA from Assam.

Cow urine was one of India's most coveted exports once - it was the source of the bright colour ' Indian yellow ' and came from cows fed only on mango leaves. Now, it's turning science and politics in India on its head.
Also read: Hindu Mahasabha plans gaumutra party with cow-dung cakes to fight coronavirus in India
Cow-ward politics

Swami Chakrapani, president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, organised a ' gaumutra party' in which people lined up to drink cow urine in kulhads. Suman Haripriya, a BJP MLA in Assam endorsed the drink, saying it has been used to fight cancer as well. NCP MP Vandana Chavan raised the issue of cow urine being tom-tommed as a cure for coronavirus and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu told her not to create controversies on such a "sensitive issue" in Parliament. A religious organisation allegedly used distilled cow urine as a sanitiser to fight coronavirus. Ashwini Choubey, minister of state for health, justified cow urine on the grounds that even former PM Morarji Desai used to drink gaumutra (as also his own urine). And Bhopal BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya said drinking cow urine cured her breast cancer.

IIT Delhi got 50 proposals in 2017 to study the benefits of cow urine. In the age of ancient wisdom being passed off as prescient science, cow urine is the new fashionable liquid in town.
Also read: Congress leader Oscar Fernandes tells story of 'gaumutra' curing cancer in Rajya Sabha
Is gaumutra helping science?

Some scientists are, understandably, bristling with anger. Five hundred of them wrote a letter to the Modi government asking it to withdraw a government call "for research proposals on the ' uniqueness ' of indigenous cows and the curative properties of cow urine, dung, and milk, including potential cancer treatments".

But gaumutra may be aiding science in India too, inadvertently.

Arnab Bhattacharya, TIFR Public Outreach, department of condensed matter physics and materials science, underlines this when he says there is a recent trend of scientists trying to attach the cow urine tag to otherwise mundane research subjects just because they know that this government will probably grant the funding request if they tie up their proposal to cow urine in some way.

"So many legitimate researchers are going for this low-hanging fruit just to keep their labs running. Most of these are studies on nanoparticles," he says, pointing to the paper, 'Structural and magnetic properties of CuFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by cow urine assisted combustion method' in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2019. It has a bunch of authors from different universities, including one from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

So, how did we get to this point, of moving one step from thinking of the cow as sacred to believing its by-products have medicinal properties?
Also read: Sadhvi Pragya's doctor debunks claim of cow urine curing her cancer, says she had surgeries
Morarji Desai to 'established' wonders

There was a time when Desai's experiments with his own urine were the subject of global ridicule. His dedication to speaking about it on a visit to the US in 1978 on Dan Rather's CBS show 60 Minutes unleashed a network war, forcing ABC to air footage of Desai holding forth on the "water of life" to Barbara Walters. Mark Tully loves to tell the story of interviewing Desai for BBC Radio and asking him about urine therapy. Desai asked him to compare who looked better, he at 80 or Tully at half his age. "I looked at him and said, 'I think you look rather better than I do.' He was over 80 and had beautiful translucent skin. He was immaculately dressed in crisp khadi, sitting bolt upright. I was not that well dressed, was slouched and 40 years younger than him," Tully recalls.

Cow urine has been used in the West in the past. Some scientists believe cow urine has been a victim of gaslighting. They refer to the use of camel urine in Islam and of horse urine in modern medicine in the oestrogen replacement drug Premarin (and in many others). They also point to the gruesome history of Europeans eating human corpses for medicinal purposes.

When it comes to cow urine, they point to scientific reviews that chronicle its many uses in various drugs. The paper, by Gurpreet Kaur Randhawa and Rajiv Sharma, of Government Medical College, Amritsar, says cow urine can be used alone or as an adjunctive to prevent the development of resistance and enhance the effect of standard antibiotics.

Arnab Bhattacharya notes, though, that a quick check will show that most papers are in either low key or outright predatory journals that will publish anything without checks, such as ' Cow urine prominence to humanity' by K. Sharma, S. Kaur, N. Kumar in Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2020, and ' Hydrothermal assisted biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles by using honey and gau mutra (cow urine) ' in Eurasian Journal of Biosciences, 2019.

"I haven't seen any paper in any reputed journal, apart from studies that just show its effect as fertiliser, or show that it can contain pathogens," he notes. After the outbreak of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalitis), there was a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, for example, which showed that prions were found in cattle urine. There are also studies on poisoning due to cow urine in Nigeria.
Also read: Shampoo, oil, cancer drugs from cow urine, dung - what Modi govt wants scientists to work on
The Kamdhenu age

Does cow urine have a place in Ayurveda? Ayurvedic practitioner Mahesh Sharma, who is based in Hyderabad, cautions ThePrint that though cow urine does figure in Panchagavya, an Ayurvedic medicine, it is only one of the five components-cow milk, clarified butter from cow milk, cow urine, curd from cow milk, and cow dung. In Ayurveda's foundational text, Charak Samhita, Panchagavya has been recommended for treatment of epilepsy ( Apasmara), fever and jaundice. Use of cow urine, he goes on to say, has been mentioned in Ayurveda for purification and detoxification of herbs. Cow urine is also used in some important formulations like Panchagavya ghrita, Ashwinikumar ras, Arsha kuthar rasa, Sanjivani Vati, Mandurvatak, Punarnava mandur, Panchamrutloha mandur, Agnimukh mandur, and Kasisadi taila.

But can drinking it fight disease? Sharma says well-planned experimental studies on animals and humans are required to assess its anti-cancerous, antimicrobial properties. The Indian cow breed 'Kamdhenu' is supposed to be a unique and distinct species. Three basic books of Ayurveda ( Charak, Sushrut and Vangbhat Samhita) describe eight types of animal urine that can be used in medicine.As described in Ayurveda, Kamdhenu is a distinct species of cow, but we don't know its equivalent in modern cattle. Drinking of urine of any type of cow is not described or prescribed by Ayurveda, he adds. An RTI to the Department of Animal Husbandry and the top veterinary university got no information on the usefulness of cow urine.
Also read: How a govt body plans to produce 'highly intellectual' children with help of cows
Modi government's ancient connection

There is also little to suggest that it can cure diabetes, as Union minister Nitin Gadkari had claimed in 2018. Or indeed anything else. But leading lights of the Modi government and the party that runs it have always upheld practices from the past as so-called examples of our all-knowing ancients, whether it is Prime Minister Modi endorsing Ganesh as perhaps the earliest example of plastic surgery or Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb calling the updates of the battle between Pandavas and Kauravas of Mahabharata the first example of Internet in the world.

Added to this is the tendency of scientists to jump on the bandwagon of "proving science behind ancient traditions", points out Bhattacharya, which is aided by the wording of the call for proposals from funding agencies. For example, the recent Department of Science and Technology (DST)-Scientific Utilisation through Research Augmentation (SUTRA)-Prime Products from Indigenous Cows (PIC) - one of the research programmes into indigenous cattle announced during the 2019-20 Union Budget, aiming to develop products as well as improve the genetic quality of indigenous cattle breeds, starts off by saying, "Indian cows are believed to possess certain unique qualities and characteristics".

This cow-craze, Bhattacharya adds, can only be called udder nonsense.

The troubled political and cultural history of cow urine is somewhat different from that of beef.

Cow slaughter is banned across states, and is also considered a sin in Hinduism - even though scholar D.N. Jha had clearly demonstrated (in Myth of the Holy Cow) that ancient Vedic Indians did sacrifice the cows in rituals. But it is still culturally respectable to talk about saving the cow. But cow urine doesn't have the same respectability that even talking of cow dung as disinfectant does culturally. It is still taboo to admit to its consumption.

And in the 1990s, the Vishva Hindu Parishad, in its corner office in Delhi's R.K Puram, displayed products that come from the cow along with tiny booklets about their medicinal qualities. But it is now part of mainstream political lexicon. Popular culture may also follow. Just give it some time.
The author is a senior journalist. Views are personal. This article has been updated to fix an error about Morarji Desai.
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Between sanitiser and gaumutra for COVID-19, many in Modi's India have made a historical choice

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There are three kinds of liquids that are part of conversations as antidotes to the coronavirus pandemic. Hand sanitisers, vodka, and gaumutra. But gaumutra or cow urine is the cheapest to get hold of, no matter how scientific, because of all the cows India has managed to save since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014.

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Here are some of the most harmful COVID-19 hoaxes

Desperate for protection against COVID-19, some people are acting on dangerous misinformation they've found online. Fact-checkers need help sharing the articles that debunk the most life-threatening hoaxes. And all authorities should get involved too.

In Tunisia and other Arabic-speaking countries, and in North Macedonia and Greece, the dangerous idea of gargling with Betadine - a topical antiseptic - to avoid COVID-19 has gone viral. Fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked this information and warned that it can harm the mouth, tongue, lips and throat.

On March 14, worried about the spread of the new virus in India, a group of 200 Hindus gathered in Delhi for a cow urine drinking party. Yes - you read that right.

For religious reasons (and following viral posts), the group met to share Gomutra (cow urine). They believed it could prevent or cure the new coronavirus, ignoring fact-checks published in India and messages from health authorities. There is no evidence that cow urine has anti-viral properties and, even though it is primarily water, it can contain harmful substances if the animal was exposed to chemical residues.

Arbidol, a Soviet-era drug, is the third in this list of popular and dangerous hoaxes because its users have a false sense of security. Politicians and digital influencers in Italy helped spread this Russian anti-flu drug found in pharmacies as a prevention or miracle cure for COVID-19. Arbidol, however, has not been approved for use in Europe or in the United States. In 2007, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences found this substance to be "obsolete with unproven effectiveness."

How about pure alcohol? Yes. People are drinking that too, believing it could prevent COVID-19. According to the Iranian Tasnim News Agency, at least 2,197 people have been poisoned by alcohol across Iran since February, when the first cases of coronavirus was reported there. A total of 244 people had already died from this.

And what has been the goal for fact-checkers in a situation where hoaxes can be immediately dangerous or falsely reassure people? The fact-checking community should (and is) prioritizing the questions that seem most dangerous and sharing their conclusions about them as quickly as possible.

Some fact-checking organizations, however, receive more than 2,000 queries per day from readers hungry for accurate information. Counting only on fact-checkers is risky. Authorities, celebrities and media can and should use their influence to share fact-checks about life-threatening hoaxes.
- Cristina Tardáguila, IFCN
. . . technology

Three far-right, pro-gun activists are behind some of the largest Facebook groups calling for anti-quarantine protests around the country, The Washington Post reported.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told ABC News in an interview this week that the platform is classifying as "harmful misinformation" some posts from people organizing protests aimed at defying social distancing rules. "It's important that people can debate policy, so there's a line on this," he told George Stephanopoulos.

Zuckerberg's comments prompted a tweet from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee and a critic of tech companies, who said "we are closely watching."

. . . politics

The U.S. State Department is worried about a barrage of new coronavirus disinformation aimed at America from the Russian, Chinese and Iranian governments. Politico reported Tuesday that the U.S sees the three governments pushing "a host of matching messages, including that the novel coronavirus is an American bioweapon." The New York Times did a similar piece on Wednesday.

Russian nationals in Italy are offering Italians money to film themselves thanking Russia and President Vladimir Putin for recent coronavirus aid, Italy's La Repubblica newspaper reported Sunday. The Russian embassy said it was unaware of the effort.

. . . science and health

After members of the ruling party in India blamed Muslims for spreading the new coronavirus, The Telegraph reported on Monday that two newborn babies died in the country after hospitals refused to admit their Muslim mothers. It's another indication of rising Islamophobia in India.

LNP's Mike Wereschagin has a good piece out of Pittsburgh exploring how COVID-19 is feeding conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns. "The pandemic exacerbates the problem, but its tendrils reach into nearly every major public policy issue of the day," he wrote.

AFP found a video shared thousands of times on several social media platforms purporting to show hundreds of Nigerians scrambling for food as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Among those who shared it was a Nigerian senator who called on the government to do something because "Nigerians are hungry."

It's true that the coronavirus-related lockdown in Nigeria has cut people off from their only source of income, AFP said, and local authorities are providing relief packages to help.

But the widely shared video was old. It was recorded more than a year ago in Lagos as a political party distributed rice to woo voters ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial election, AFP said. To figure that out, the fact-checkers used reverse image searches that led them to the earlier footage.

What we liked: Context is everything. AFP's fact-check included its own video of a coronavirus food distribution event in Nigeria It showed that people were not social-distancing and were eager to get the food, but in a more orderly fashion than the people in the video from a year earlier.
- Susan Benkelman, API

1. The International Fact-Checking Network carried out a six-month review and has just updated its Code of Principles. After two months, the IFCN is again accepting applications.

2. The New York Times reported on what it called "an explosion of conspiracy theories" surrounding coronavirus and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

3. How is the pandemic enabling surveillance around the world? Roskomsvoboda, the Russian internet freedom advocacy organization, has created a portal to follow up.

4. Media Matters reported that an April 16 YouTube video suggesting the novel coronavirus is a "false flag" to force "mandatory vaccines" has racked up millions of views.

5. Bellingcat's Aric Toler had some qualms with that recent New York Times article on Russian disinformation. Foreign Policy weighed in, too.

6. More than 300 people have been arrested in 40 countries for "spreading COVID-19 falsehoods," reported IFCN's Harrison Mantas.

7. The Washington Post announced that Scribner will publish a book that compiles work from the Post's Fact Checker team cataloging President Donald Trump's false and misleading claims.

That's it for this week! Feel free to send feedback and suggestions to factually@poynter.org. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, or if you're reading it on the web, you can subscribe here. Thanks for reading.

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People are gargling with antiseptics, drinking cow urine and taking pills to avoid COVID-19

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Desperate for protection against COVID-19, some people are acting on dangerous misinformation they've found online. Fact-checkers need help sharing the articles that debunk the most life-threatening hoaxes. And all authorities should get involved too. In Tunisia and other Arabic-speaking countries, and in North Macedonia and Greece, the dangerous idea of gargling with Betadine - a topical antiseptic - to avoid COVID-19 has gone viral.

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Even as the global medical fraternity braces to find a remedy for Covid-19 - with hydroxychloroquine emerging as a frontrunner after US President Donald Trump's precipitate endorsement of it despite his own health experts expressing reservations - alternative cures and preventives abound, with emphasis on 'alternative'.

In Gujarat, an oncology surgeon, who is a former Union minister of state for health and family welfare, is an eloquent advocate for the ingestion of cow urine, or gaumutra, to help ward off the pathogen.

"Apart from improving digestion, gaumutra strengthens the lymphocytes and is rich in antioxidants," the ex-mantri affirmed, while commending the use of gaumutra 'ark' that puts paid to 'malicious microbes'.

Such is the efficacy of this bovine product's advocacy that it has emerged as a much-needed boost to the local economy, with sales of 6,000 litres per day.

Meanwhile, a Melbourne astrophysicist tried to fabricate a device involving magnets that would alert him if his hands came too close to his face, a strict no-no in preventing infection.

He began randomly attaching magnets to his face, eventually putting one in each nostril, where 'they all closed together', leaving the would-be inventor literally breathless, and in need of hospital care.

Such homespun remedies evoke the old injunction, 'Physician, heal thyself '!

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From gaumutra to magnets, it's all anti-coronavirus

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Even as the global medical fraternity braces to find a remedy for Covid-19 - with hydroxychloroquine emerging as a frontrunner after US President Donald Trump's precipitate endorsement of it despite his own health experts expressing reservations - alternative cures and preventives abound, with emphasis on 'alternative'.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayur_lodeh

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Naga takeover of medicine symbol

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It is believed this can deter disasters such as wind storm, earthquake, volcanic eruption, drought and plague

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Normally, what does one do in a time of illness? The obvious answer is to take medicines, mostly prescribed by doctors. They include tablets, syrups and other remedies. Some injections are also prescribed when the need arises. What about cow urine though? Has it ever been placed in the category of medicines in medical science? Yes, in present-day India.

The terror of the coronavirus has engulfed the world and has spread its reach in India as well. Thousands have lost their lives around the world. At a time when the panic-stricken human race is embroiled in a fight with the disease, a cure is looking like a distant dream. In this scenario enters a new saviour. A saviour hailed by a section of people in India, who never fail to advocate its efficacy and dynamic proficiency. The new saviour goes by the name of 'gaumutra'.

While scientists rack their brains to find a vaccine or any form of treatment, the Hindu Mahasabha organised a 'gaumutra party'. And to the amazement of many, they executed the event with the solemn belief that cow urine could cure the dreaded novel coronavirus. It was attended by hundreds of people who drank the urine and claimed to have become immune to the virus.

In a similar incident, a group of men organised a cow worship programme in West Bengal and drank cups of cow urine, vouching for its 'miraculous' properties. The Bengal BJP's Dilip Ghosh voiced his support, saying that he occasionally drank cow urine and that there was no shame in it. Earlier in March, BJP MLA in Assam Suman Haripriya deviated a bit, propagating that cow dung could also destroy COVID-19.

If the coronavirus only knew that a single animal, oblivious of its existence, had unwittingly produced an antidote that could end its spread.

This is not the first time that cow urine has entered the scenario of treatments and medicines. Back in 2017, the Central Government reportedly planned to create a committee to research the potential for cow urine to cure diseases that ranged from cancer to dengue. The committee was to be housed at IIT-Delhi and the aim was to create a nationwide network of cow-related research. In 2020, the government again looked at a programme where scientists would strive to create toothpastes, shampoos and mosquito repellents from the by-products of indigenous cows. The programme was to be called the 'Scientific Utilisation Through Research Augmentation Prime Products from Indigenous Cows' (SUTRA-PIC India). In 2019, the government reportedly announced that it would invest 60% in any startup that aimed to commercialise cow by-products. One must also remember BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya's claim that cow urine cured her cancer.

Instances like these have given cows a hallowed place in society, wrapping them in an aura of divinity. They are sacred, they are worshipped and they are the divine light that will drag human beings out of purgatory. Even the tiger, India's national animal, which exudes the ferocity of a brute, can shiver in dread and renounce its habit of eating cows, for fear of punishment (it was prescribed in the hard grounds of reality by Goa NCP MLA Churchill Alemao). Soon, one may see a cow walking in the forest, with the other animals parting ways and respectfully bowing down.

In our modern narrative, the cow is the 'king of the jungle' and its urine is the elixir of the earth.

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Normally, what does one do in a time of illness? The obvious answer is to take medicines, mostly prescribed by doctors. They include tablets, syrups and other remedies. Some injections are also prescribed when the need arises. What about cow urine though? Has it ever been placed in the category of medicines in medical science?

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FACT: Hand sanitizers can be used often

An alcohol-based sanitizer does not create antibiotic resistance. Unlike other antiseptics and antibiotics, pathogens (harmful germs) do not seem to develop resistance to alcohol-based sanitizers.

FACT: Alcohol-based sanitizers are safe for everyone to use

Alcohols in the sanitizers have not been shown to create any relevant health issues. Little alcohol is absorbed into the skin, and most products contain an emollient to reduce skin dryness. Allergic contact dermatitis and bleaching of hand hair due to alcohol are very rare adverse effects. Accidental swallowing and intoxication have been described in rare cases.

FACT: Alcohol-based sanitizers can be used in religions where alcohol is prohibited

Any manufactured substance developed to alleviate illness or contribute to better health is permitted by the Qur'an, including alcohol used as a medical agent.

FACT: The amount of alcohol-based sanitizer you use matters

Apply a palmful of alcohol-based sanitizer to cover all surfaces of your hands. Rub your hands together using the right technique until they are dry.

The entire procedure should last 20-30 seconds.

FACT: Vitamin and mineral supplements cannot cure COVID-19

Micronutrients, such as vitamins D and C and zinc, are critical for a well-functioning immune system and play a vital role in promoting health and nutritional well-being. There is currently no guidance on the use of micronutrient supplements as a treatment of COVID-19.

WHO is coordinating efforts to develop and evaluate medicines to treat COVID-19.

Is dexamethasone a treatment for all COVID-19 patients?

Dexamethasone should be reserved for patients who need it most. It should not be stockpiled.

It provided no improvement for patients with mild symptoms. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid used for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. For some COVID-19 patients on ventilators, a daily 6 mg dose of dexamethasone for 10 days improved their health

Fact: Water or swimming does not transmit the COVID-19 virus

The COVID-19 virus does not transmit through water while swimming. However, the virus spreads between people when someone has close contact with an infected person.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Avoid crowds and maintain at least a 1-metre distance from others, even when you are swimming or at swimming areas. Wear a mask when you're not in the water and you can't stay distant. Clean your hands frequently, cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or bent elbow, and stay home if you're unwell.

FACT: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a virus, NOT by bacteria

The virus that causes COVID-19 is in a family of viruses called Coronaviridae. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

Some people who become ill with COVID-19 can also develop a bacterial infection as a complication. In this case, antibiotics may be recommended by a health care provider.

There is currently no licensed medication to cure COVID-19. If you have symptoms, call your health care provider or COVID-19 hotline for assistance.

FACT: Spraying and introducing bleach or another disinfectant into your body WILL NOT protect you against COVID-19 and can be dangerous

Do not under any circumstance spray or introduce bleach or any other disinfectant into your body. These substances can be poisonous if ingested and cause irritation and damage to your skin and eyes.

Bleach and disinfectant should be used carefully to disinfect surfaces only. Remember to keep chlorine (bleach) and other disinfectants out of reach of children.

FACT: Antibiotics CANNOT prevent or treat COVID-19

Antibiotics work only against bacteria, not viruses.

COVID-19 is caused by a virus, and therefore antibiotics should not be used for prevention or treatment.

Some people who become ill with COVID-19 can also develop a bacterial infection as a complication. In this case, antibiotics may be recommended by a health care provider.

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COVID-19 Mythbusters - World Health Organization

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Highlighting some of the misinformation circulating on COVID-19

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According to legend, when the plague came to the city of Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java, the sultan ordered his citizens to cook sayur lodeh and stay home for 49 days. The plague ended. And so began a practice that continues to this day.

Sayur lodeh is a simple vegetable curry made from seven key ingredients and a spicy coconut milk base. Nutritionists that have studied the dish point to the health benefits of additions like galangal, which is thought to have anti-inflammatory qualities. They've surmised that such a dish, made from seasonal, easy-to-obtain ingredients, make it perfect for quarantine.

But the most important thing about the sultan's command to cook sayur lodeh was that it was an appeal to social solidarity. An entire city cooking the same thing at the same time creates a powerful sense of togetherness.

"Like many aspects of Javanese belief, the purpose is to avoid misfortune," said Revianto Budi Santoso, an architect, teacher and student of Javanese heritage. "Avoiding ominous things is prioritised over individually achieving something. The Javanese think that when there are no obstacles, life looks after itself."

Javanese food as a whole is rich in symbolism. For instance, nasi tumpeng is a mixture of meat and vegetables crowned by a tower of cone-shaped yellow rice. The presentation of the dish is supposed to mirror the order of the world under God. Nasi kuning is an aromatic yellow rice dish thought to bring blessings to new homes and businesses. And the turmeric drink jamu takes its name from the Javanese word meaning "prayer for health" and is claimed to promote calmness.

Sayur lodeh extends this symbolism linguistically and numerologically. Each of the seven key ingredients that are added to a base of coconut milk - melinjo (an olive-like fruit), melinjo leaf, chayote (a type of squash), long beans, aubergine, jackfruit and tempeh - has a symbolic meaning that is derived from the sound of its syllables.

Like many aspects of Javanese belief, the purpose is to avoid misfortune

In Javanese, the wungu of terong wungu (aubergine) means purple, but also something like "awaken"; while the lanjar of kacang lanjar (green beans) equates to "blessings". Put together the seven items and you have something approximating a spell.

The ritual of cooking sayur lodeh is an example of a slametan, a type of communal rite that the anthropologist Clifford Geertz identified as a central feature of Javanese culture. One striking characteristic of the slametanis its fatalism; sayur lodeh is performed without much expectation that it will actually work.

"It's interesting that the sayur lodeh is not an individual thing," said Santoso. "It's a response to a misfortune that looks like it will overpower everyone. It's an effort to mitigate, as much as avoid, something that is probably inevitable."

For an outsider, one of the attractive things about the magic of the sayur lodeh story is just how unmagical it is. The ingredients are a list of things that any Javanese villager is likely to have to hand. Preparing the dish is simple: you put all the ingredients in a pot, then hang it over a fire. In the past, the cooking would begin after two royal heirlooms - a spear and a sacred flag, supposedly made of material taken from the tomb of the prophet Muhammad - were paraded through the streets. Nowadays, it's more like a regular meal. Alongside the linguistic and numerological complexity, there's a practicality, if not deep mundanity, that makes this slamentan appealingly contrary.

You may also be interested in:
* Why no one else speak's Indonesia's language
* The suprising truth about Indian food
* Asia's centuries-old 'lockdown' law

While sayur lodeh is straightforward to make, its origins are complex. Some scholars believe the tradition stretches back to central Java's civilisational heyday in the 10th Century, where lodeh enabled residents to shelter safely during the massive eruption of Mount Merapi in 1006. Food historians such as Fadly Rahman have dated sayur lodeh to the 16th Century after the Spanish and Portuguese introduced long beans to Java. Still others have argued that it is an "ancient tradition" that was invented in the 19th Century: at the turn of the 20th Century, Yogyakarta intellectuals were at the heart of the Indonesian National Awakening, a period when many national myths were variously discovered, celebrated and created.

If nothing else, the sayur lodeh legend was amplified in the early 20th Century. The most famous example comes from 1931 when, during the reign of Sultan HB VIII, Java had been suffering from successive waves of bubonic plague for more than two decades. But records also show that sayur lodeh was cooked to respond to crisis in 1876, 1892, 1946, 1948 and 1951. To make matters even more complicated, over time sayur lodeh has become popular across the entire Malay Archipelago. It quickly becomes difficult to isolate why, when and how the dish evolved.

The food historian Khir Johari believes that such questions are irrelevant.

"When we look at the history of food, the temptation is to try and join dots so that you end up with a monocentric story," he said, "but there can be multiple centres of creation."

"The Chinese Peranaken community in Singapore serve sayur lodeh as a kind of yellow vegetable stew that you eat with lontong (compacted rice)," he said, "while Javanese Singaporeans make a white lodeh without turmeric."

Now Indonesians are beginning to realise the health benefits of our traditional foods

For Johari, the transformation of sayur lodeh as it diffused through the patchwork of cultures that make up the Malay Archipelago illustrates the interplay between food, social customs and environment. While the lush agricultural lands surrounding Yogyakarta supply the vegetables that enable villagers to face plagues and volcanic eruptions, the region is dominated by major maritime nodes where quarantine meant imposing isolation on newly arrived travellers. It seems likely that Javanese sailors were responsible for popularising the dish outside of Yogyakarta: soups, chowders and curries like sayur lodeh become deeply practical when stuck on a ship.

And the dish keeps on evolving. In the hyper-urban South East Asian cities of today, sayur lodeh has been rediscovered as a health food. It's also become a heritage dish that attracts the attention of a rapidly growing middle class: for the Instagram generation, the rich colours of sayur lodeh lend themselves to comparison, competition and attention-grabbing imagery.

"When I first opened my shop people used to drink jamu for the benefit of social media: 'Look how in touch I am with my culture', that sort of thing," said Nova Dewi Setiabudi who runs the Suwe Ora Jamu cafe in M Bloc, one of Jakarta's hipster districts. "But now Indonesians are beginning to realise the health benefits of our traditional foods; we don't always realise the medicinal benefits of ingredients like bay leaves, lemongrass and galangal."

Outside of Yogyakarta , sayur lodeh may have lost its exact meaning, but it is still recognised as a dish that is somehow about more than just food. "Lodeh is a simple food," said Nova, "but there is great philosophy - wisdom - behind it. The key is fresh ingredients."

For now, the changing food fashions of Jakarta have little to do with the popularity of the dish in Yogyakarta. When an instruction to cook sayur lodeh because of Covid-19 was recently shared around the city via WhatsApp groups, purportedly from the current Sultan of Yogyakarta, the majority of residents took it to heart, with people preparing the dish and sharing it with their neighbours. Yogyakarta has been transformed over the last 20 years, with the rapid construction of hotels, malls and a new airport, but the need for rituals and reassurance has remained unchanged. If anything, technological advances in communication have worked to emphasise the continuing primacy of older emotional reflexes.

However, no-one in Yogyakarta is actually sure whether the WhatsApp messages came from the sultan or not. The palace told a local newspaper that it hadn't, but this denial is not believed by everyone. While Yogyakarta is an anomaly in Indonesia, an autonomous kingdom inside a republic, the current sultan is keen to be seen as a modernising figure and appears to want to distance himself from the superstitions attached to the dish. His reticence to acknowledge the tradition might be explained in terms of political risk: in the context of the current pandemic, public health officials worry that the millions who will likely travel across Indonesia at the end of Ramadan in May might unwittingly carry Covid-19 with them. While confirmed cases in Yogyakarta are still very low, it would not look good if sayur lodeh appeared central to the Sultanate's response to the crisis.

Yet, while one can sympathise with this logic, that doesn't mean that local enthusiasm for sayur lodeh is misplaced. The people of Yogyakarta responded to the crisis as they have always done: by cooking sayur lodeh. And it didn't matter to them whether the command came from the sultan or not. Now they wait 49 days.

Recipe
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients:
50g melinjo
100g melinjo leaf
200g chayote
100g long beans
1 purple aubergine
1 jackfruit
1 piece tempeh
100 ml coconut milk

Spices:
6 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp of salt
Sugar to taste

1 red chilli
3 green chilli
1cm galangal
1 bay leaf

Vegetable preparation:
Peel the chayote and cut into cubes
Cut long beans into 2 cm chunks
Cut the aubergine into cubes
Peel and chop the jackfruit

Spice preparation:
Puree garlic, shallots, coriander, salt and sugar
Slice the red chilli and green chilli

How to cook:
Bring the coconut milk to the boil while stirring in the spices
Add the galangal, jackfruit, chayote, melinjo and long beans until cooked
Add melinjo leaves, chilli, aubergine and tempeh until cooked

Culinary Roots is a series from BBC Travel connecting to the rare and local foods woven into a place's heritage.
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According to legend, when the plague came to the city of Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java, the sultan ordered his citizens to cook sayur lodeh and stay home for 49 days. The plague ended. And so began a practice that continues to this day.

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NEW DELHI: In a world ravaged by Covid-19, one of the casualties seems to be the spread of India's culinary cultures. With restaurants shut and unlikely to operate in quite the same way globally, the rise and rise of Indian cuisines internationally in the last few years has been stemmed for now. Once restaurants do open again in what used to be the dining capitals of the world, it is debatable how many consumers will seek out newer, unfamiliar cuisines even as the restaurant industry itself downsizes drastically.

"It is a very scary situation. The only way of survival will be to downsize. People will be scared to make investments in the F&B space globally now," points out chef and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia, whose restaurants and catering business in Milan have been severely impacted. With an investment by industrialist Analjeet Singh in her business, Dalmia had been setting sights on growing a European restaurant empire-in cities like Milan, Madrid, Lisbon-and consequently help grow awareness about Indian culinary cultures, historically quite low in continental Europe.

In Milan, for instance, her restaurants Cittamani and Spica had been familiarising conservative Italian diners with dishes like kadhi, kachori and Bombay street food in a contemporary way instead of stereotypical tandoori naan and dal makhni. Dalmia hopes that "people's sense of adventure will not change" in the post-Covid world "but eating out will be much lesser," she apprehends.

In New York, where a spate of new wave Indian restaurants like Gupshup, Rahi, Bar Bar, Indian Accent et al were taking Indian cuisine forward and giving younger diners a chance to identify with a modern, self-confident Indian identity, restaurant collapse will obviously put this growing pop appeal on hold. While "Indian cuisine's growing popularity will not be stemmed", as restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi of Gupshup says, "it will certainly slow down, especially in a market like New York, where people are now scared of eating out, and where only the most competitive restaurants will survive."

However, amidst all these fears, there seems to be a silver lining. In Kuala Lumpur, Nadodi, that had been pushing the boundaries of south Indian food with dishes like fish head curry espuma and zero-wastage rasam brewed in a coffee siphon; left-over peels used in a cocktail, is seeing surprisingly more takers for its recently started delivery service. Described by the Michelin Guide as a "flavourful disruptors of south Indian cuisine", the restaurant used to serve degustation only menus but has now started delivering a more simplified menu, which is priced higher than the popular Banana Leaf restaurants in the country.

Kartik Kumar, brand director of Nadodi says he has been surprised at how many takers there are for their relatively more expensive Nadodi delivery menu. "Patrons of Nadodi seem to have liquidity for spending Ringitt 180-200 per order for takeaway. I feel, people will look out for the best" at the higher end of the spectrum, he adds, while restaurants that catered to the mass market and middle class customers will be more impacted as that segment will have lesser money to spare on eating out.

One reason, Kumar says, why more people at least in KL (with a big south Indian diaspora) seem to be patronising Indian food is because of the therapeutic value associated with spices, according to alternate healing systems such as Ayurveda.

While Chinese food seems to be looked upon with some suspicion by diners, in contrast, "people are ordering more Indian as they feel spices are therapeutic. Rasam is considered good for the immune system because of antioxidants and spice blend," Kumar says.

In London, chef Sameer Taneja of Benares is also realising how spices and the perception of their Ayurvedic goodness may eventually aid Indian cuisines in the post-Covid world. "My former boss Pierre Koffmann (a celebrated French chef whose restaurant La Tante Claire in London won the coveted three Michelin stars) called me up the other day to ask about how to drink turmeric in his morning drink. I wouldn't believe my mum, when she ran after me with a glass of doodh haldi 30 years ago, about its benefits... funny to think of it now," says Taneja.

This global perception of super ingredients like turmeric and other therapeutic spices may grow wider in the time to come. London based TV chef and cookbook author Manju Malhi says, "UK supermarkets have been getting record sales. This is a time when people are using diverse ingredients because regular stuff is sold out. That is a good thing in the long run, as people may get a taste for Indian foods and ingredients like this."

If that happens it will mean that Indian cuisines with their underpinnings in Ayurveda and complex spicing will finally be able to break free from the "curry" stereotype and find wider recognition as one of the great "fine" cuisines of the world-a position held by French for a very long time, in the post World War II years.
(The writer is a food critic, columnist and author. Views expressed in this article are personal.)

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A Bruised Post-Covid World: Can Indian Cuisine Lend A Healing Touch?

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NEW DELHI: In a world ravaged by Covid-19, one of the casualties seems to be the spread of India's culinary cultures. With restaurants shut and unlikely to operate in quite the same way globally, the rise and rise of Indian cuisines internationally in the last few years has been stemmed for now.

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Two organizations representing Indonesian jamu (herbal medicine) producers have objected to the reported importation of ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by the House of Representatives COVID-19 task force, saying that the same ingredients can be produced domestically.

"I object to this, because Indonesia uses the [same] formula as the imported [TCM]," Dwi Ranny Pertiwi, who heads the Indonesian Jamu and Traditional Medicine Producers Group (GP-Jamu) said on Monday as quoted by .

Dwi said that the House task force had not coordinated with the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) in importing the TCM, which she claimed would be distributed to COVID-19 referral hospitals in Indonesia.

Andre Rosiade of House Commission IV said that the task force had only imported two out of the 15 ingredients needed for the TCM, while the remaining 13 ingredients would be locally sourced.

He also said that the formula for the herbal medicine had been developed by local TCM practitioners who had been granted permission to do so by the Health Ministry.

"The task force is recommending the herbal drink because some have submitted statements that it can cure [COVID-19]. One member of the House, along with six members of his family, were exposed to the coronavirus and were said to have recovered after consuming the drink," said Andre.

Read also: Not all herbal drinks are healthy: Experts

Meanwhile, Inggrid Tania, who chairs the Association of Indonesian Doctors for the Development of Traditional and Herbal Medicines (PDPOTJI), said that she had reviewed several Chinese journals and discovered that the imported ingredients were used to treat acid reflux disease, which Indonesians sometimes referred to as masuk angin, or the common cold.

"We have many Indonesian herbs for masuk angin, so why would we need to import?" she added.

Inggrid said that herbal medicines had not been clinically tested for use as COVID-19 therapy. Further, she stressed that no referral hospitals were using herbal products to treat patients with the disease.

"We only have personal testimonials. Along with LIPI, [the Indonesian Institute of Sciences], UGM [Gadjah Mada University] and Kalbe Farma, we are planning to conduct clinical trials of several herbs for COVID-19 treatment," she said. (syk)

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'Jamu' groups oppose House's decision to import ingredients for 'COVID-19 cure'

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Two organizations representing Indonesian jamu (herbal medicine) producers have objected to the reported importation of ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by the House of Representatives COVID-19 task force, saying that the same ingredients can be produced domestically.

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Video: 'Jamu gendong' vendors lure more customers amid COVID-19 pandemic - The Jakarta Post

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Jamu (traditional herbal drink) is enjoying rising popularity after Airlangga University molecular biologist Chairul Anwar Nidom suggested that drinking it could boost immune systems. The Jakarta Post spoke with Narti, a jamu gendong vendor in the city who has experienced a surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Indonesians turn to 'jamu' herbal drinks amid coronavirus

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Despite doctors' warning, jamu, traditional Indonesian herbal drinks, are becoming increasingly popular after a surge of coronavirus cases in Indonesia, with many convinced they can avoid Covid-19 if they regularly drink the concoctions.

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JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) - Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has been bolstering speculation that a herb concoction can ward against being infected with the coronavirus.

He said in a statement posted on a government website that he's been drinking a mixture of red ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and curcuma, a type of tumeric native to South-east Asia, three times a day since the spread of the virus.

"I drink the mixture instead of tea now," Mr Joko said in the statement.

"I give the drinks to my guests, be it the morning, afternoon or evening."

The brew is called Jamu, and is widely used as a herbal medicine in Indonesia on claims that it can cure various diseases, from the common flu and stomach aches to uric acid. It's even believed to increase sexual stamina for men.

Industries are built around it and listed companies, such as PT Industri Jamu dan Farmasi Sido Muncul, produce it.

However, its use as a deterrent against the coronavirus is yet to be proven.

Despite this, Mr Joko isn't the only one who's turned to the herb mixture amid growing fears over the virus. Demand for the blend has risen so much that prices of red ginger, turmeric and curcuma jumped fivefold, the President said.

Citizens should take it upon themselves to grow the herbs themselves, he said.

Within more conventional medicine, investors have been placing bets on who will be the first to develop an antiviral for the coronavirus. Shares of United States drugmakers and biotech companies have been defying a market rout, though there is no treatment or vaccine as yet.

The World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a pandemic as the disease, officially named Covid-19, has spread to 110 countries and regions, killing more than 4,700 people and infecting over 128,000 globally.

Indonesia reported its first death this week, while the number of confirmed cases reached 34.

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Indonesia President Joko stokes speculation herbs can fight coronavirus

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JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) - Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has been bolstering speculation that a herb concoction can ward against being infected with the coronavirus. He said in a statement posted on a government website that he's been drinking a mixture of red ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and curcuma, a type of tumeric native to South-east Asia, three times a day since the spread of the virus.

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Turmeric, Ginger, Coconut Juice, Black Pepper, Honey