Hospital officials in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo are in distress with the recent floods of COVID-19 patients despite the alleged efficacy of a herbal drink supplement 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.
To date the Indian Ocean island-nation of Madagascar has recorded 7,548 coronavirus cases, including just 65 deaths.
“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.”
“It is impossible to free up spaces for the moment,” he said.
Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Hospital, director Mamy Randria
The head of Anosiala University Hospital, Rado Razafimahatratra echoed the concerns, noting that the facility was “constantly overwhelmed”.
