CLAIM
Amid a deluge of misinformation on social media around coronavirus, a viral message has come to light which claims that there have been no coronavirus deaths in Israel owing to the consumption of a drink – a combination of lemon and bicarbonate.
The message is being massively shared on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.
NO DEATHS IN ISRAEL?
Firstly, the claim that Israel has not recorded a single COVID-19 death is not true. According to the data provided by Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Centre, as on 31 March, Israel has over 4,500 positive cases and 16 recorded deaths due to COVID-19 infection. The figures according to WHO stand at 4,247 confirmed cases, 382, new cases and 15 deaths.
Hence, the claim that there are no COVID-19 deaths in Israel is completely false.
Further, there is no medical evidence to suggest that a combination of lemon and baking soda (bicarbonate) can help cure coronavirus.
IS LEMON AND BAKING SODA EFFECTIVE?
To check the veracity of Lemon and Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) as a cure, The Quint reached out to Dr Suranjeet Chatterjee from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals who told us that there is no evidence to back this claim.
“The claim that a combination of lemon and sodium bicarbonate can help cure coronavirus stems from the misleading reports discussing the pH value of the novel coronavirus surfaced on social media. However, there no study until now which backs any of these cures.”Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant – Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital
The Quint has also debunked the claim about pH level of virus being less than alkaline food. Speaking about these fake messages doing the rounds, Dr Chatterjee added that people shouldn’t trust these quack hacks and undergo proper diagnosis and treatment.
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