The Namibian government is warning its citizens not to trust claims on social media that elephant dung can cure Covid-19, as coronavirus infections rise more rapidly, Reuters reported.

Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula said Covid-19 currently has no known cure.

“If anybody claims as such, it must be treated as a false claim,” he told The Namibian newspaper.

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesman, Romeo Muyunda, told Reuters the government had observed that elephant dung was increasingly being touted as a Covid-19 cure.

“We have seen on social media people selling elephant dung at exorbitant prices. There is a whole hype around it,” he said.