US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would move to rush the development of vaccines and treatments “as fast as it can possibly be done” for Covid-19, as the US infection rate hit 10,755 with major clusters on the West Coast and New York state.
Trump said that hydroxychloroquine - an old and inexpensive drug used to treat malaria - would be made available almost immediately to treat coronavirus.
Lab studies have suggested that the drug may keep Covid-19 from invading human cells.
“It’s been around for a long time, so we know if things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody,” Mr Trump said.
The president also said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved “compassionate use” for some patients, allowing ill people to use drugs not yet approved by the FDA.
Many noted the absence of Dr Anthony Fauci from the White House coronavirus briefing for a second day.
Dr Fauci, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was - for a period - the face of the US response.
But since the US launched its virus response, Dr Fauci and Mr Trump have, at times, appeared at odds.
Last week, Dr Fauci said the system for coronavirus testing was “failing” just as Mr Trump spoke of the “tremendous” set up for testing in the US.
