Coronavirus: Madagascar Registers First COVID-19 Death

Indian Ocean island country Madagascar records its first COVID-19 death, just weeks after it started shipping out its herbal drink that it claims cures Coronavirus. Madagascar

The news of the country’s first COVID-19 death was announced on Sunday, May 17, 2020, by the country’s national COVID-19 taskforce, the victim is a 57-year-old medical worker who was also suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

The spokesperson for the Taskforce Hanta Danielle Vololontiana made a live nationally televised statement that the victim died on Saturday night.

“A man died from COVID-19 in Madagascar … he is 57 years old and a member of the medical staff,” she said.

Madagascar had been making major headlines across Africa and the world with its purported COVID-Organics (CVO), an organic herbal concoction which the country’s President Andry Rajoelina had claimed could cure people infected with the deadly novel Coronavirus. He claimed that of the 304 COVID-19 patients in the country 105 have been cured with the COVID-Organics herbal concoction.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned against the use of the herbal concoction without any medical supervision and cautioned against self-medication. The WHO further said that they have not approved the CVO for the patients suffering from coronavirus but called for clinical trials.

Several African countries including Nigeria have taken delivery of the purported remedy,  known as COVID-Organics. Photo Credit: Getty

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