The test results of both antiviral drugs will be announced in three weeks, he added.

Some scientists had claimed that anti-malaria drug Chloroquine could be a potential treatment for the new virus, but no proof has emerged , said Dr Janet Diaz, head of clinical case management at WHO.

Local authorities in China have been using Gilead’s Remdesivir, which was tested as a possible treatment during the Ebola outbreak. Another antiviral drug Kaletra, a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, is also being to a lesser extent .

Covid-19 has killed more than 2,000 and infected at least 70,000 people worldwide.