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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Health decided to supply health facilities across the country with chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, to mobilize against the novel coronavirus.
The decision follows consultations with the technical and scientific committee of the national program for the prevention and control of influenza and acute respiratory infections.
The ministry said it has mobilized efforts to ensure the medication’s availability.
The health department urges that chloroquine stocks must be managed by the heads of regional supply and pandemic units at the level of regional health directorates, according to a ministry press release.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that all prescriptions must be made on a normative prescription including all necessary information concerning the dose and instructions for usage.
Morocco has confirmed 143 novel coronavirus patients as of March 23. Five patients have recovered, and four have died.
Under clinical trials across the world, many health experts believe chronoquil may prove an effective treatment to cure people with COVID-19.
The medication is used as an anti-malaria drug and should be prescribed only by doctors.
The ministry issued a press release on March 20 informing citizens that medicines containing chloroquine are still undergoing clinical trials to determine whether the medication is an effective treatment for the virus.
Read Also: Interior Minister Urges Moroccans to Respect COVID-19 Measures
Medical experts across the world have been testing the medicine on patients with the novel coronavirus to test its efficacy in treating the disease.
US President Trump falsely announced that the drug could be used to treat the virus, erroneously claiming that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved it for COVID-19.
If the drug proves effective to treat COVID-19, its use “would be limited to cases admitted to hospitals and according to a medical protocol approved by a national scientific committee,” said the ministry.
As social media users in Morocco and across the world started promoting the medicine, the ministry warned citizens against buying medications without prescriptions.
The ministry’s action aims to prevent any potential medication shortage if the drug is eventually approved for treatment, and to prevent Moroccans from using the harsh drug unnecessarily.
