Nevada’s governor has signed an emergency order that prohibits the use of anti-malaria drugs for someone who has the coronavirus or wants to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak’s order Tuesday restricting chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine comes after President Donald Trump promoted the medication during a news briefing as a treatment for the virus. Trump last week falsely stated that the Food and Drug Administration had just approved the use of chloroquine to treat patients infected with coronavirus. After the FDA’s chief said the drug still needs to be tested for that use, Trump overstated the drug’s potential benefits in containing the virus.
Sisolak’s order also limits a prescription to a 30-day supply so that people cannot find a way to stockpile the drug and ensure it’s available for “legitimate medical purposes.”
Sisolak’s action comes after a Phoenix-area man died and his wife was in critical condition after they took an additive used to clean fish tanks known as chloroquine phosphate, similar to the drug used to treat malaria.