The Namibian government is warning its citizens not to trust claims on social media stating that elephant dung can cure COVID-19, as infection cases rise rapidly.
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesman, Romeo Muyunda spoke to Reuters saying, the government had observed that elephant dung was increasingly being touted as a COVID-19 cure.
“We have seen on social media people selling elephant dung at exorbitant prices. There is a whole hype around it,” Muyunda said.
Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula also stated that currently, COVID-19 has no known cure.
“If anybody claims as such, it must be treated as a false claim,” Shangula told The Namibian newspaper.
Some traditional healers say that elephant dung has healing properties including for treating headaches, toothaches and blocked sinuses, but claiming it can cure COVID-19 is a new trend.
Namibia, which initially won praise for containing the spread of the coronavirus, is now seeing a much faster increase in new infections.
Its capital Windhoek recently overtook harbour town Walvis Bay as the virus’s epicentre, and it now has 4,344 confirmed cases and 36 deaths, according to the latest official tally.
