US President Donald Trump has again defended the use of hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus, contradicting his own public health officials.

He said the malaria medication was only rejected as a Covid-19 treatment because he had recommended its use.

His remarks come after Twitter banned his eldest son for posting a clip promoting hydroxychloroquine.

There is no evidence the drug can fight the virus, and regulators warn it may cause heart problems.


Top US virus researcher Dr Anthony Fauci has called President Donald Trump's sharing of a video which included claims masks are not needed to fight Covid-19 "not helpful".

The video promotes a drug widely disproven to be effective in treating Covid-19.

Dr Fauci's interview with the BBC's Katty Kay comes as the US is about to hit 150,000 deaths due to the pandemic.

The virus continues to spread rapidly in the US as states lock down again.

President Trump was among social media users who shared video on social media late on Monday of a group called America's Frontline Doctors advocating hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment and saying that masks and shutdowns are not effective in combating coronavirus.

Facebook and Twitter removed the video, flagging it as misinformation, but not before more than 17 million people had viewed it.



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