Washington, March 21: United States President Donald Trump on Saturday hinted on Twitter that the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving closer to find a cure for the novel coronavirus. His suggestion came amidst mounting COVID-19 cases in all 50 provinces of the US. According to Trump, the combined effect 'Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin' could be a game-changer in the battle against coronavirus. US Suspends All Routine Visa Services Around the World Due to Coronavirus Pandemic.

Trump, in his tweet, claimed that drug regulator has "moved mountains" in its research so far to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. He further added that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin must be used immediately in order to save lives. His remarks were addressed towards the country's drug regulator, appealing them to act on war-footing at this front.

See Donald Trump's Tweet

"HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains - Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents) be put in use IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ARE DYING, MOVE FAST, and GOD BLESS EVERYONE! (sic)," Trump tweeted.

Prominent members of the Twitterati, including health experts, questioned Trump's suggestion that coronavirus could be cured using hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. "The combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat the coronavirus has not been proven safe and effective through large scale clinical trials. There is only anecdotal evidence from case reports in countries overseas. Promising them as miracle drugs gives false hope," said Dr Eugene Gu on Twitter.

See Eugene Gu's Tweet

'You Are Giving False Hope to Americans'

'Super Dangerous Misinformation'

'Unproven'

The number of coronavirus cases surged to 22,132 in the United States by the time this report was published. The number of deaths also climbed to 282, whereas, the number of patients who have recovered from the disease was stated as 147. In terms of number of cases, the US is only behind China, Italy, Spain and Iran.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2020 11:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).