Thailand’s health ministry approved the use of a herbal plant extract to treat early stages of Covid-19 as a pilot program amid a flareup in the coronavirus outbreak in the Southeast Asian nation.
Andrographis Paniculata, commonly known as green chiretta, will serve as an alternative treatment to reduce the severity of the outbreak and cut treatment costs, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The treatment will be available in five state-owned hospital initially, it said.
Thailand reported 250 new cases on Wednesday, taking the nation’s total to almost 7,000, and a government official said the rate of increase in local transmissions was alarming and urged people to stay at home to prevent the virus from spreading further. The government has also banned large gatherings in high-risk areas, said Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesperson for the national Covid-19 response center.