105-year-old woman credits surviving Covid to gin-soaked raisins

Lucia DeClerck, who is 105 years old and resides in New Jersey, has an altogether unusual explanation for why she believes she survived Covid-19: gin-soaked raisins.

DeClerck told the New York Times that the secret of her long life was down to two things – avoiding junk food and “prayer, prayer, prayer”. However, she credits her recovery from coronavirus to a different habit altogether.

Every morning, the grandmother eats nine gin-soaked golden raisins – a ritual she has been following for most of her life.

“Fill a jar,” she told the Times, “Nine raisins a day after it sits for nine days.”

The snack has long been touted as a folk remedy for arthritis, though some say its efficacy may merely be down to the placebo effect.

According to the Independent, Ms DeClerckwas born in 1916 in Hawaii and thus has lived through both world wars and the Spanish Flu.

Earlier this month, we reported on Sister André – a 117-year-old French nun who celebrated beating Covid with a well-earned flute of Champagne and a glass of port. You can read more about her remarkable story here.

Meanwhile, a bar in Israel is offering a free soft drink to those who get the Covid-19 vaccine, in a bid to encourage younger people to get the jab.