Senegal will continue treating COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, a senior health official said on Wednesday, despite a recent study indicating that the anti-malarial drug is ineffective and potentially harmful.

Authorities in the West African state opted to provide consenting patients with the drug early on during its coronavirus outbreak, citing promising clinical results.

Abdoulaye Bousso, who heads Senegal’s Centre for Health Emergency Operations, told AFP on Wednesday that the country’s hydroxychloroquine treatment programme would nonetheless continue, without offering further details.

The infectious-diseases doctor who is spearheading Senegal’s treatment of COVID-19 patients, Moussa Seydi, did not respond to requests for comment.

The World Health Organization said on Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for coronavirus following the Lancet study.