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Coronavirus live updates: FDA gives drugs emergency approval to treat COVID-19

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The two drugs are being investigated as potential treatments for COVID-19.

March 30, 2020, 8:08 AM

3 min read

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people across the globe.

The new respiratory virus, which causes an illness known officially as COVID-19, has rapidly spread to every continent except Antartica since first emerging in China back in December. There are now more than 723,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, spanning across 177 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. At least 152,000 of those patients have recovered from the disease.

With more than 143,000 diagnosed COVID-19 cases, the United States has by far the highest national tally in the world, followed by Italy, China and Spain. The virus has spread to every U.S. state as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. At least 2,514 people have died in the United States, according to the latest count by Johns Hopkins University.

Today’s biggest developments:

  • FDA gives anti-malaria drugs emergency approval to treat COVID-19
  • Global deaths top 34,000
  • US cases cross 143,000; deaths top 2,500
  • Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.

    Here’s how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.

    3:00 a.m.: FDA gives anti-malaria drugs emergency approval to treat COVID-19

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a limited emergency-use authorization for two antimalarial drugs to treat those infected with the novel coronavirus.

    In a statement released Sunday night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it had received 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and one million doses of hloroquine phosphate donated to a national stockpile of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which are oral prescription drugs used primarily to prevent and treat malaria, are both being investigated as potential therapeutics for COVID-19.

    The statement noted that the FDA had issued an emergency-use authorization to allow both donated drugs “to be distributed and prescribed by doctors to hospitalized teen and adult patients with COVID-19, as appropriate, when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.”

    Federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, are working together to plan clinical trials.

    What to know about the novel coronavirus:

  • How it started and how to protect yourself: coronavirus explained
  • What to do if you have symptoms: coronavirus symptoms
  • Tracking the spread in the US and worldwide: coronavirus map

  • ABC News


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