People in China are not only emptying supermarket shelves of fever medicines and painkillers, but also of a rare product touted as a “healing magic drug.”
The country is reporting an unprecedented surge in Covid cases after Xi Jinping’s administration eased lockdown restrictions. Of late, there has been a surge in panic buying and hoarding across the country.
Chinese authorities reported 2,000 new cases of Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, compared with 2,291 a day earlier. Official figures, however, are a less reliable guide as testing has declined. The country also stopped reporting asymptomatic figures on Wednesday.
And as supermarkets see a surge in demand for ibuprofen, cold and fever medicines and Covid test kits, people are stocking up on home remedies to fight the virus, despite no scientific evidence to back up such claims.
Canned yellow peaches along with regular drugs are an example of a product being promoted on Chinese social media.
The canned fruit is being billed as a “healing magic potion” that can create “health and strong immunity,” he reports. China Daily Newspaper. Jars of canned fruits are flying off the shelves in many stores and online e-commerce portals.
While peaches are thought to be rich in vitamin C, there is no scientific evidence that the fruit can help fight Covid.
On China’s Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo, the trend of “packaged stars sold across the country” was viewed by more than 17.92 million people.
Many joked that the koches should be sold as “prescription drugs”, while others said they were just a convenience food to help people cope with their anxiety over the rising number of Covid cases.
Dalian Lisun Food, one of the producers of Peach’s Desire packaged foods, clarified in a Weibo post that peaches are not medicine.
“Canned yellow peaches ≠ drugs!” The company said in a post on Friday. “There is no need to panic as there is enough supply. There is no rush to buy.”
Demand for products such as medicine has surged last week due to the sudden easing of strict Covid-19 rules. Products sold out quickly on online platforms, leading to long queues outside pharmacies.
Since then, many shops have imposed limits on how much customers can buy, while drugmakers are ramping up production.
“The Chinese like to hoard things. How could there be anything left? They like to hoard medicine before they get sick,” said a Shanghai doctor.
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