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Washington. — US President Donald Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus, despite public health officials warning it may be unsafe.

Speaking at the White House, he told reporters he started taking the malaria and lupus medication recently.

“I’m taking it for about a week and a half now and I’m still here, I’m still here,” was his surprise announcement.

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

The 73-year-old president was hosting a meeting devoted to the struggling restaurant industry yesterday, when he caught reporters unawares by revealing he was taking the drug.

“You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it, the frontline workers, many, many are taking it,” he told reporters.

“I happen to be taking it.”

Asked what was his evidence of hydroxychloroquine’s positive benefits, Trump said: “Here’s my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it.”

He added: “I’ve heard a lot of good stories (about hydroxychloroquine) and if it’s not good, I’ll tell you right I’m not going to get hurt by it.”

Though some people in the White House have tested positive for coronavirus, the president said again yesterday he had “zero symptoms” and was being tested frequently.

He added that he had been taking a daily zinc supplement and received a single dose of azithromycin, an antibiotic meant to prevent infection.

When asked whether the White House physician had recommended he start taking the disputed remedy, Trump said he himself had requested it. — BBC.