Lianhua Qingwen, a recommended medicine for treating patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms, has been approved as a Chinese proprietary medicine by the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore.

The designation means the product can be sold in the country as a medicine, the drug's manufacturer said on Wednesday.

Made by Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, the medicine meets Singapore's standards for registration as a Chinese patent medicine, it said.

The capsule, a traditional Chinese medicine used in the treatment of influenza, has been approved for sale as a medicine, food supplement or natural health product in a dozen countries and regions, including Brazil, Romania, Thailand and Ecuador. It can also be sold in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.