Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina on late Sunday confirmed that two lawmakers have died of coronavirus since the first case was confirmed on the island in March, reported Reuters.
During an appearance on a talk show on national television on Sunday, the Madagascar president revealed that 25 members of parliament and of the senate have tested positive with the virus so far.
“One deputy died. A senator died,” Rajoelina said, adding, “After the tests carried out on the deputies, 11 members of parliament were detected carrying the coronavirus. At the Senate, 14 people, senators and agents of Senate carry the coronavirus.”
However, he did not disclose the name of the lawmakers who died of the virus.
Rajoelina also said that he and his family had been taking Madagascar’s self-proclaimed, herbal remedy for COVID-19, dubbed Covid Organics that was launched in April, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation that its efficacy is unproven. The herbal concoction has not been validated by any scientific study.
He said he is still doing fine despite the fact that he might have come in contact with people who likely carried the coronavirus and even entered hospitals that treat Covid-19 patients.
“I don’t carry coronavirus at all. I have no symptoms. Thank God,” the Madagascar president said. “I follow the directives that I have given myself. But above all, me and my loved ones, my wife and my children, we drink and we follow a treatment based on the Covid Organics concoction.”
Madagascar has so far reported over 5,080 confirmed novel coronavirus cases and 37 deaths, according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Around 2494 people have recovered from the virus.
The government had imposed a state of health emergency in the country since March and the authorities re-imposed a lockdown in the capital and surrounding areas last week to contain the spread of the deadly virus following a new surge in coronavirus infections. The lockdown measures that were imposed starting on July 6 will be effective for 15 days.
