Jean Paul Mira, the French doctor who requested that the new Coronavirus drug be tested in Africa has apologized.

Jean Paul Mira and his colleague, Camille Locht had on a live TV interview which went viral, suggested that Africa is the best place to conduct Covid-19 test, as they recalled how an experimental treatment for AIDS was carried out in Africa.

The statement has since triggered global outrage, as some described it as racist.

However, Mira, who is the intensive care unit (ICU) head at the Cochin Hospital in Paris, in a statement, described his comment as ‘a clumsy one.’

He apologised to those offended and shocked by his statement.

The terse statement read: “I want to present all my apologies to those who were hurt, shocked and felt insulted by the remarks that I clumsily expressed on LCI this week.”