A lawmaker with the Social Encounter Party (PES) in Sonora expressed doubts Wednesday about the gravity of the coronavirus and said he has it on good authority that it can be cured by drinking cinnamon tea.
“There are honest doctors on social networks who say that Covid-19 is not as serious as advertised, they even say that by drinking cinnamon tea morning, noon and night, the virus will die in the throat,” said Carlos Navarrete Aguirre.
The remarks came during a meeting with the state’s health commission at which Navarrete urged members to reopen the state because he believes social distancing measures and coronavirus restrictions violate the fundamental rights of Sonorans.
Apart from advocating for the curative powers of cinnamon, the legislator went on to question the very existence of patients with the coronavirus since nobody seems to know anyone who has been infected, he stated, and that the hospitals he has visited look empty.
The remarks drew outraged responses from the governor’s office and Navarrete’s own party.
Fellow PES Deputy Jesús Alonso Montes Piña was particularly taken aback by Navarrete’s statements as Montes’ 25-year-old son and ex-wife were diagnosed with coronavirus on May 5.
“How difficult it is for me to hear this statement from a deputy who says Covid-19 does not exist. Tell me about it! Tell me that Covid-19 does not exist and that this is a farce,” he said. “You cannot make these kinds of statements.”
The Sonora government’s spokesperson on the coronavirus epidemic, epidemiologist Gerardo Álvarez Hernández, expressed extreme doubt over Navarrete’s claims.
“Not even the most advanced scientists in the world have been able to find the specific treatment needed to mitigate the suffering it causes in those who are infected. I seriously invite this person and others to show us the scientific evidence that cinnamon tea has a positive effect,” Álvarez said, pleading for people to act responsibly before spreading information that folk remedies can cure the virus.
Source: Forbes (sp), El Universal (sp)
