Kenyans from the coast Wake Up in the Middle of Night to Take Sugarless Black Tea to ‘Cure’ Covid-19

Dozens of Kenyans from the Coast region allegedly woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday after rumors went round that a cure/prevention for coronavirus had been ‘found’, according to reports.

They cut short their sleep to prepare and consume sugarless black tea after they were told that the drink shields one from contracting Covid-19, a high-contagious virus that originated in China. 

A text message shared among Coast residents claimed that a child born in Garsen, Tana River County with six teeth and extra weight uttered that “chai ya rangi” (sugarless black tea) was the cure for coronavirus, and that people should take it before dawn. The infant died immediately after uttering the words, according to a report by The Standard.

“Dawa ya corona ni chai ya rangi,” the child allegedly said before he died.

Those who received the information woke up their relatives and friends to make sure they took the ‘cure’ before dawn.

“Who is this child that everyone is talking about at this time of the night? Everyone says they have been told but no one is owning the information,” Msambweni resident Mwanamisi Kasirani posted on her WhatsApp status at 4 am as quoted by The Standard.

Adam from Mombasa said: “I am awake at this time of the night with my family after receiving phone calls from concerned relatives asking me to drink black tea.”

“I was asleep when someone called at around 2 am only to tell me a kid has been born and has said the cure to coronavirus is black tea,” said Sameer Ali, a Malindi resident.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no specific medicine to prevent or treat coronavirus disease at the moment.

As of Sunday, Kenya had confirmed 42 cases of Covid-19 while the number of infections in the world stands at 715,000 and 33,000 deaths.