COVID19 X CHLOROQUINE

COVID-19: State Dept. Tells Americans Traveling Abroad to Come Home / Chloroquine & Hydroxychloroquine

By Kelly Young

Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS

The U.S. State Department says that Americans traveling abroad should come home immediately if they're able — or plan to remain abroad indefinitely — because of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The department issued a level 4 travel advisory — its highest — on Thursday.

Americans living abroad are instructed to avoid all international travel. Those living on U.S. soil should not leave.

Meanwhile, the FDA could make the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine available to treat patients with COVID-19, President Donald Trump announced at a news briefing on Thursday.

"We're going to be able to make [them] available almost immediately," he said. Early studies have suggested a potential benefit. The FDA commissioner said their effectiveness would be assessed in the context of clinical trials.

In other COVID-19 news:

• The FDA has temporarily suspended routine facility inspections within the U.S. One interim measure being considered is inspecting facility records instead of doing an onsite inspection.
• For the first time, China has reported no new domestic cases. It reported 34 cases in the prior 24 hours, but they were all imported.
• The CDC says that homemade masks can be used in settings where facemasks aren't available. These can include bandanas and scarves.
• Italy has surpassed China in COVID-19-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in Italy now exceeds 3400.
• The number of reported U.S. cases has crossed the 10,000 mark.