Covid-19 'care pack' for ancestors makes a comeback this Qing Ming festival

From bottles of legit vaccines (with needles, of course) to the not quite orthodox traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang and Pien Tze Huang to Chinese herb green chiretta - every item in the 'care pack' is for treating Covid-19.

Except, it is not meant for the living.

The 'care pack', priced at $5.50, is the latest fad in paper offerings for the Qing Ming (or Tomb Sweeping) festival.

The Qing Ming festival takes place on April 5, and the visiting period is between March 26 and April 17.

Mr Oh Tong Hoe, a shop assistant at Kian Mei Heng Joss Stick at Block 293 Yishun Street 2, told The New Paper: "This is actually the second year that we have imported the 'care packs' from China.

"Last year, we had a smaller supply and it was quite popular, so the boss decided to bring in more stock this year."

Mr Oh said he is not too sure if the packs are different at other vendors, but believed they should be similar.

In the pack are the basic essentials, he added, that most people believe can help treat or alleviate the discomfort of coughs and flu.

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However, the claims circulating on social media and in Telegram chat groups that the Lianhua Qingwen products can protect against Covid-19 are false, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a statement on Nov 17 last year . This is despite the products being listed as Chinese proprietary medicine in Singapore for the relief of cold and flu symptoms.

"To date, there is no scientific evidence from randomised clinical trials to show that any herbal product, including Lianhua Qingwen products, can be used to prevent or treat Covid-19," said HSA.

It added that all herbal products formulated for common cold and flu, including Chinese proprietary medicine, should be used only to manage symptoms such as headache, runny or blocked nose, sore throat and cough.

Reader Choo Chwee Hua, who alerted TNP, was caught by how painstakingly well produced the items in the 'care pack' were. She said: "The replicas look so real!"

But it appears another item is hot on the demand list, revealed Mr Oh.

"We didn't import it, but we have many customers who have asked if we have the Antigen Rapid Test (ART) self-test kits," he said.

ALSO READ: What is Lianhua Qingwen? Why are some touting it as a Covid-19 cure? We ask a TCM practitioner