US President Donald Trump has announced that chloroquine will be approved by the FDA to test as treatment of coronavirus.

TRUMP: The FDA has approved Chloroquine to be prescribed to help treat Coronavirus.



pic.twitter.com/jyNokYREZi — Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 19, 2020

Chloroquine is known as a malaria drug and has been available for decades. According to a French report, chloroquine can be used to both prevent and treat the novel coronavirus which has brought the entire world to a near grinding halt.

The news came after a French researcher made the connection. Trump says that the drug will be available "almost immediately" for prescription.

“What’s also important is not to provide false hope,” said FDA commissioner Dr. Steven Hahn, who spoke following Trump, adding, “We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good.”

.@US_FDA chief Stephen Hahn says the agency is studying the use of Convalescent plasma or immunoglobulins of patients who had recovered from #coronavirus to improve the survival rate of others. Similar treatment was used during the #Ebola outbreak in 2014 pic.twitter.com/jLkiAdaL4e — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 19, 2020

Dr. Gregory Rigano told Fox News that trials of chloroquine for COVID-19 had patients testing negative for the coronavirus in just six days time. Rigano also said the drug could be used both as a preventative, and as a treatment.

Clinical Infectious Diseases, a medical journal, had reported on March 9 that a brand-name version of chloroquine was showing promise as a potential aide in killing coronavirus.

According to in-lab experiments, the virus was weakened and killed by Plaquenil, the name-brand version of chloroquine which was first approved in 1995.

Chloroquine is used for both Malaria and arthritis treatments.

Scientists are now tasked with finding the most effective way to use the drug, as one does not currently exist specific to coronavirus.

The first human vaccine was taken on Monday in Seattle.