Trump promotes unproven malaria medicine as COVID-19 treatment

President Trump defends the use of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment despite opposition from his public health officials.

The US president said that the treatment which has been previously used as a malaria medication was only rejected for coronavirus prevention as he had suggested it.

This follows a Twitter incident, whereby President Trump's eldest son was banned for 12 hours from the platform for sharing a video promoting hydroxychloroquine.

The video that was circulated on Monday by Mr Trump and Donald Trump Jr showed a group, America's Frontline Doctors, promoting the medication as a valid treatment for coronavirus. The clip was flagged as misinformation by Facebook and Twitter and was then removed.

The medication that has also been used to treat lupus has shown no proof of being able to fight the virus, according to the World Health Organization. Regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration have warned that intake of the medicine could cause heart issues and other health problems.

However, this is not the first time Mr Trump has mentioned hydroxychloroquine. Back in May, he confessed to the media that he had been taking the medication to protect himself from COVID-19.

The situation of COVID-19 deaths in the US seems to have hit their highest amount in months. There were 1,600 deaths registered in the last 24 hours—states such as California and Florida report record-breaking death tolls every day.