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Madagascar hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by coronavirus surge
8:52 CAT | 22 Jul 2020
Students drink from bottles of Covid Organics, a herbal tea, touted by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina as a powerful remedy against the Covid-19 coronavirus. [Photo: (AFP]
Hospital officials in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo say they are struggling to cope with a rush of coronavirus patients despite the distribution of a herbal drink touted as a remedy by the president.
President Andry Rajoelina has been promoting an infusion derived from artemisia – a plant with proven anti-malarial properties – as a homegrown cure for Covid-19.
He has brushed off warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) that there are no published scientific studies of the drink — which has been called Covid-Organics — and that its effects have not been tested.
But Covid-designated hospitals in Antananarivo warn they are starting to run out of beds.
“We are now only accepting severe cases,” Andohotapenaka Hospital director Nasolotsiry Raveloson told AFP on Tuesday.
“The number of cases is increasing more and more,” he explained. “We now have 46 severe cases and so we only have four spaces left.”
At Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Hospital, director Mamy Randria said the facility was “overwhelmed”.
“It is impossible to free up spaces for the moment,” he said.
The head of Anosiala University Hospital, Rado Razafimahatratra echoed the concerns, noting that the facility was “constantly overwhelmed”.
To date the Indian Ocean island-nation of Madagascar has recorded 7 548 coronavirus cases, including just 65 deaths.
VIDEO: Long queues for virus tea ‘cure’ in Madagascar.
A traditional brew endorsed by the president is being handed out free to residents as a purported cure for the #coronavirus. The claims are contrary to warnings from scientists, who say there is no known cure for COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/Hj8QZD5vrY
— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 23, 2020
As confinement measures are gradually relaxed in Madasgacar, a traditional remedy endorsed by president Andry Rajoelina is being handed out for free to residents as a purported cure for the coronavirus. But the claims are contrary to warnings from…
Infections have spiked over recent days, however, raising concern in a country where three-quarters of the population live on less than $1.90 per day, according to the World Bank.
“Two factors have contributed to the spread of this disease,” said health department official Zely Arivelo Andriamanantany on local television.
“Firstly… people took CVO (Covid-Organics) and then didn’t respect social distancing. Secondly, CVO only guarantees protection for two to three weeks,” he said.
The government, meanwhile, has blamed the rise in cases on “increased testing capacity”.
Source: AFP
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