Panicked mothers start leaving onions in kids' rooms to combat coronavirus

A university student's post on Twitter revealed that a lot of worried mothers had resorted to do-it-yourself COVID-19 prevention methods. 19-year-old Temiloluwa Oseni tweeted a picture of an onion, which she claimed her mother kept in her room to keep her safe from the pandemic. Following her tweet, many more individuals on the platform shared images of onions which they claimed their mothers had also placed in their homes.

Staying home with her family during the COVID-19 lockdown, Temioluwa was amused to find cut onions in the corner of every room of the house. She shared the pictures of the onions on Twitter, outing her mother for following the viral WhatsApp remedy blindly.

The post got a variety of reactions ranging from people sharing the hilarious DIY remedies their mothers are trying, to people supporting the mother's preventive measure. A number of users shared images of their own onion protectors. Some mothers even placed garlic in rooms along with or instead of onions.

The Sun pointed out that not only did Temioluwa's 46-year-old mother, Abiola Oseni, leave onions around the house ,she also used orange and lemon peels to keep the home in Ashford, Kent disinfected. Temioluwa claimed that along with the vegetable remedies. Abiola also left bowls of saltwater around to keep the air clean and moist.

Every day, the onions get a layer removed since the outer layer has absorbed all the "bacteria" in the home.

As many made fun of the weird practice, there were some who tried to defend the woman with what they claimed to be "scientific facts." The supporters of the remedy pointed out that during the plague, people placed cut onions in their homes in France. Supporters of the onion remedy seemed to believe that the humble ingredient absorbs bacteria and toxins.

Even if their beliefs were based on facts, it would not help prevent COVID-19 as it is caused by a virus instead of bacteria and toxins.

While the effort can be seen as endearing, the spread of misinformation that people are choosing to believe is highly alarming.