Students forced to drink TCM soup before returning to school

The education bureau in the Yunnan city of Lincang has apologized after students were forced to drink a traditional Chinese medicine soup before being allowed to go back to school.
Some parents in Lincang told reporters on Sunday that drinking the soup had been made into a prerequisite for their children enrolling in the spring semester which had postponed by the coronavirus outbreak.
The parents said that they had been ordered to send in photos or videos of their children drinking the soup as evidence and had also been asked to share any side-effects that their kids experienced, like dizziness or diarrhea.
Of course, school systems are not actually allowed to prescribe children medicine. Once news got out about the soup requirement, local education officials were quick to apologize, portraying the situation as the result of some well-intentioned overenthusiasm.
The education bureau explained that the soup had been recommended by the city’s local coronavirus task force for its alleged immunity properties, leading to some schools making it mandatory.
Students are now to be encouraged to voluntarily take the soup.


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