Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has been promoting the potential use of black tea as an “immunity booster”, as the government began arresting people on the island for spreading “fake news”.
The official Twitter Account of the Ministry of Foreign Relations sent out a tweet claiming, "#CeylonBlackTea rich in "Theaflavins" helps increase human immunity against #COVID19".
"The #SriLankaTea industry successfully launches its first ever e-auction; online tea auction today (04)," it added.
Meanwhile the Sri Lankan HIgh Commission in Pakistan echoed the Foreign Ministry's claims, stating “IS BLACK TEA AN IMMUNITY BOOSTER FOR COVID- 19?”
It added, “Is there any silver lining in the dark cloud for ‘Ceylon Tea’?” as it shared, what it termed a “scientific paper” from the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka.
The statement from the institute claimed “the practice of drinking tea may also contribute to the low incident of infected patients with coronavirus”.
“Scientists at the Sri Lanka Tea Board Laboratory suggest that frequent consumption of hot black tea is capable of flushing viruses trapped in the throat area,” it added, calling Ceylon Tea “the miracle Black Tea”.
The statement, which has not been backed by any scientific studies outside of the island, comes even as the Sri Lankan state began arresting people it claimed were spreading “fake news”.