INDONESIAN President Joko Widodo said he has been drinking jamu every day since the Covid-19 outbreak as he believes it can boost the immune system and ward off the coronavirus.

Guests who pay courtesy calls on Widodo, also known as Jokowi, are no longer served tea, but jamu, a mixture of herbs that include serai (lemon grass), kunyit (tumeric) and halia (ginger). 

“Now to my guests, whether in the morning, afternoon or night, I give this drink. Not tea, I replace it with temulawak (a type of ginger), jahe (ginger), (serai), kunyit, which are mixed to make the jamu drink,” local media quoted him as saying at the Presidential Palace.         

Jokowi said he takes the drink at least three times a day.

“Even before this, I drank jamu, (but) only in the morning. But now, because there is this corona (Covid-19),  I drink it in the morning, at midday and at night,” he said.

In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has now been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation, the Indonesian media has been running articles quoting Indonesian medical experts saying there is scientific proof that jamu can boost one’s immune system to ward off the Covid-19 virus.

Jamu is a traditional medicine from Indonesia. It is an herbal concoction made from natural ingredients, such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits. Ingredients from animals, such as honey, royal jelly, milk and ayam kampung eggs are also often used. 

Indonesia, with a population of more than 270 million people, has recorded one fatality so far due to the outbreak. – Bernama, March 12, 2020.