a senior lecturer at the colombo university institute of indigenous medicine. andrographis paniculata was claimed to boost the immune systems and relieve symptoms of coronavirus by a thai media website. pakakrong kwankao, head of the empirical evidence centre at chao phraya abhaibhubehjr hospital, and richard brown, programme manager of health emergencies and antimicrobial resistance at the world health organization (who) in thailand, said that there was no evidence to back these claims. sap from tinospora crispa (makabuhay) plants was claimed to serve as an antibiotic against the coronavirus when used as an eye drop; it was also claimed that the coronavirus is from the skin and crawls to the eyes. these rumours circulated in the philippines. jaime purificacion from the university of the philippines’ institute of herbal medicine said that while there was evidence for makabuhay as a treatment for scabies, there was no evidence that it was useful for treating coronavirus, and no evidence that putting the sap in your eyes was safe. he strongly advised against putting plant sap in the eyes, saying it could be dangerous. the who has stated that antibiotics do not kill the coronavirus, as they kill bacteria, not viruses. a recipe consisting of ingredients often purported to prevent and cure colds, including lemon grass, elder, ginger, black pepper, lemon and honey, was promoted by maría alejandra díaz, a member of the venezuelan constituent assembly as a cure for covid-19. díaz also described the virus as a bioterrorism weapon. the president of madagascar, andry rajoelina launched and promoted covid-organics in april 2020: a herbal drink based on an artemisia plant as a miracle cure that can treat and prevent covid-19 despite a lack of medical evidence. the drink has been exported to other african countries. united states president donald trump and mike lindell participated in a july meeting at the white house regarding the use of oleandrin as a treatment for coronavirus. lindell soon acquired a financial stake in phoenix biotechnology inc, a company trying to find a profitable use for oleandrin. oleandrin is toxic and potentially lethal to humans. religious and magical methods zoonosis involves a disease hopping between humans and other animals during the pandemic the alternative anthroposophic medicine promoted at steiner hospitals in germany became notorious amongst legitimate medics for forcing quack remedies on sedated hospital patients, some of whom were critically ill. remedies used included ginger poultices and homeopathic pellets claimed to contain the dust of shooting stars. stefan kluge, director of intensive care medicine at hamburg's university medical centre said the claims of anthroposophic doctors during the pandemic were "highly unprofessional" and that they "risk causing uncertainty among patients". indian politician swami chakrapani claimed that drinking cow urine and applying cow dung on the body could cure covid-19. he also stated that only indian cows must be used. mp suman haripriya also promoted cow dung and urine . in march 2020, the all india hindu union hosted a "cow urine drinking party" in new delhi, attended by 200 people. there exists no scientific evidence in favour of cow urine. dr. shailendra saxena of the indian virological society stated that there is no evidence that cow urine has any anti-viral effect, and eating cow dung might transmit diseases to humans zoonotically. for example, giardiasis, e. coli, salmonellosis and tuberculosis can all be transmitted via bovine fecal matter. drinking camel urine has been advocated in the middle east. the who stated that camel urine should not be drunk, in order to avoid contracting middle east respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (mers-cov), a more deadly, sars-cov-2-like species of betacoronavirus. televangelist kenneth copeland urged followers to touch their televisions as a means of vaccination by proxy, and also attempted to exorcise covid-19 on at least three occasions by summoning "the wind of god", stating that this had destroyed the virus (either in the us or worldwide). earlier, he had urged followers to ignore public health advisories and come to his churches, saying they could be healed there by the laying on of hands if they fell ill. "happy science", a secretive pay-to-progress religious group, sells "spiritual vaccines" to prevent and cure covid-19, advertises virus-related blessings at rates from us$100 to over us$400, and sells coronavirus-themed dvds and cds of ryuho okawa (the former stockbroker whom the group believes to be the current incarnation of the supreme deity) lecturing, which are claimed to boost immunity, as of april 2020. after initially defying social-distancing measures, it later closed its new york temple, and administered spiritual vaccines remotely. a suggestion that covid-19 could be prevented by applying a cotton ball soaked in violet oil to the anus has brought abbas tabrizian renewed widespread ridicule in iran. the irna news agency reported that abbas tabrizian, who has often promoted his remedies as prophetic medicine in opposition to standard medicine, has also claimed that covid-19 is god's revenge against those who had bothered him. an arrest warrant has been issued for morteza kohansal, a follower of abbas tabrizian, who visited the coronavirus section of a hospital in iran without wearing protective gear, and applied what he described as the "prophet's perfume" to affected patients. using prophetic medicine has caused some iranian clerics to delay getting standard medical treatment. ayatollah hashem bathaie golpayegani announced that he had cured himself of covid-19 three weeks before being hospitalized. he died two days later. some religious hardliners in iran have advocated that people visit shrines to be healed, and opposed government closures of pilgrimage sites. parliamentarian ramesh bidhuri of the bharatiya janata party claimed that experts say using namaste as a greeting prevents transmission of covid-19, but using arabic greetings such as adab and as-salamu alaykum does not prevent it as they direct air into the mouth. religious and scientific misconceptions related to the coronavirus have been found to be widespread in pakistan. according to a survey research conducted by ipsos, 82% of people in pakistan believed that performing wudu/ablution five times a day will keep them protected from contracting covid-19. meanwhile, 67% polled believed that jamaat (congregation prayer) cannot become a source of infection and 48% people believed that shaking hands cannot infect anyone since it is sunnah. food and drink a poster for spreading awareness of unproven food claims fruit drinking lemon in warm water has been claimed to prevent both covid-19 and cancer by increasing vitamin c levels. this claim circulated on facebook in english, french, spanish, and portuguese. there is no evidence that vitamin c was effective against coronaviruses, nor are lemons the fruit with the most vitamin c content, said henry chenal, director of the integrated bioclinical research centre (cirba) in abidjan, ivory coast. the who said that there was no evidence that lemons would protect against covid-19, though they recommended consuming fresh fruit and vegetables in a healthy diet. bananas were claimed to be able to strengthen the immune system and prevent and cure covid-19. the claim was based on a composited video that falsely attributed the statements to researchers at the university of queensland. the university stated that the video was faked and urged people not to share it. eating mango or durian will not cure covid-19. onions were rumoured to be a preventive measure against covid-19 on facebook. herbs and spices garlic was said to prevent covid-19 on facebook. there is no evidence that garlic protects against covid-19. hot peppers cannot prevent or cure covid-19. consuming large amounts of boiled ginger after fasting for a day was rumoured to prevent or cure coronavirus on facebook. there is no evidence that this prevents or cures any coronavirus infection, mark kristoffer pasayan, a fellow at the philippine society for microbiology and infectious diseases, said. juice of bittergourd, a vegetable used in traditional medicine, was suggested as a cure for covid-19 on social media. consuming turmeric has been claimed to help prevent covid-19, but the who says there is no evidence that it does. neem leaves (azadirachta indica) were claimed to be remedies for covid-19 in rumours that circulated in india. various retailers have marketed herbal products and essential oils fraudulently claimed to cure or prevent covid-19. drinks and frozen foods a poster explains that alcohol hand-sanitizers kill coronaviruses, but alcoholic drinks do not protect against covid-19 drinking alcohol will not prevent or cure covid-19, contrary to some claims. drinking alcohol may cause subclinical immunosuppression (see "addictive drugs" section above). drinking water every 15 minutes was claimed to prevent coronavirus infection. drinking large amounts of water will not prevent or cure covid-19, though avoiding dehydration is healthy. tea was said to be effective against covid-19 in claims circulating on social media, which said that since tea contained the stimulants methylxanthine, theobromine and theophylline, it was capable of warding off the virus. these claims were falsely attributed to dr li wenliang. fennel tea (supposedly similar to the medicine tamiflu—itself ineffective against coronaviruses—according to a false e-mail attributed to a hospital director) was claimed to be a cure in brazil. so-called cures in messages spreading in brazil included avocado and mint tea, hot whiskey and honey, essential oils, and vitamins c and d. facebook claims that 'gargling salt water, drinking hot liquids like tea and avoiding ice cream can stop the transmission of covid-19' have been criticized by health professionals. eating ice cream and frozen foods will neither cure nor cause covid-19, as long as they are hygienically prepared. this claim was widely attributed to unicef, which put out a statement saying that they had made no such claim: "to the creators of such falsehoods, we offer a simple message: stop. sharing inaccurate information and attempting to imbue it with authority by misappropriating the names of those in a position of trust is dangerous and wrong". meat claims that vegetarians are immune to coronavirus spread online in india, causing "#nomeat_nocoronavirus" to trend on twitter. eating meat does not have an effect on covid-19 spread, except for people near where animals are slaughtered (see zoonosis), said anand krishnan, professor at the centre for community medicine of the all india institute of medical sciences (aiims). eating chicken will not cause covid-19, as long as it is hygienically prepared and well-cooked. dishes there is no evidence that eating curry or rasam protects against covid-19. exercises taking six deep breaths and then coughing while covering one's mouth was circulated as a treatment for covid-19 infection in social media, including by celebrities such as j. k. rowling. use of existing medications unproven against covid-19