Coronavirus: Donald Trump claims to take hydroxychloroquine "every day"

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The American president revealed on Monday, May 18, that he was taking hydroxychloroquine, a malaria medicine, the effectiveness of which against the coronavirus has not been rigorously demonstrated at this stage.

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A fervent defender of hydroxychloroquine, Donald Trump announced on Monday that he had been taking it for a week and a half as a preventive measure. "  I take it because I hear very good things,  " he said during an exchange with journalists. "  You know the expression: what do you have to lose?" ""  I take one tablet a day. At some point, I will stop,  ”he said again.

Health authorities in Canada and the United States warned in late April against the use outside of supervised clinical trials of this antimalarial to prevent infection or treat the new coronavirus. "  It won't hurt me," said Donald Trump. It has been used for 40 years for malaria (...) Many doctors take it  ”. The White House tenant also said he had "  no symptoms  " of the Covid-19. He said he was tested very regularly and all of his tests so far had been negative.

Donald Trump reveals that he takes chloroquine every day. https://t.co/fGF49LMHJf

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been used for years to treat malaria, certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. According to a study published ten days ago in the New England Journal of Medicine , administration of hydroxychloroquine did not significantly improve or deteriorate the condition of critically ill patients with coronavirus. Funded by the American Institutes of Health (NIH), the observational study was conducted on Covid-19 patients admitted to the emergency departments of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

90,000 deaths from coronavirus

Donald Trump made the statement as the United States passed the 90,000 death toll and 1.5 million reported Covid-19 case on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University count, recording some 10 Another 000 deaths from the new coronavirus in a week.

The 80,000 dead mark was crossed last Monday, and that of 50,000 just over three weeks ago (April 24). According to official reports, the United States is by far the country with the highest number of deaths and cases detected from the disease. New York State alone accounts for almost a third of the deaths reported in the United States, with more than 28,300 deaths related to the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. State authorities, for their part, count only some 22,700 deaths, but this figure does not include, among other things, deaths "  probably linked  " to the virus, which are several thousand, according to New York City.

Almost 11.5 million tests have been performed in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University, and some 272,000 people are declared cured.

(With AFP )

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• Coronavirus
• Donald trump
• United States