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PARIS

A molecule known as chloroquine should be produced in massive quantities to help stem the coronavirus outbreak, said an official at a Paris hospital on Monday.

"We must produce now and very massively," Philippe Juvin, head of emergency at Georges-Pompidou Hospital, told France Inter radio.

Juvin's comments came as coronavirus is hitting France hard, along with neighboring Italy and Spain. To date, the virus has claimed 676 lives in France with 16,720 cases reported. 2,210 people have already recovered from the disease.

Chloroquine is the key molecule used in Plaquenil, the commercial name of a drug produced by French-based pharmaceutical Sanofi. It is known as an antimalarial drug but has also been used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

A recent clinical trial on the drug carried out by Dr. Didier Raoult, director at a Marseille-based infection research institute, reportedly showed promise against coronavirus, with the virus eliminated in three-quarters of the subjects.

"Dr. Raoult's study seems to show that it is effective," said Juvin, adding that Plaquenil could be administered to many people, including caregivers.

"But if we give it right away to everyone, we risk creating a shortage for the people who really need it."

Juvin stressed a strategy that the World Health Organization has widely touted:

"Containment is essential, but the right technique would be to test people."

Worldwide, there are over 350,000 cases of coronavirus with over 15,000 reported deaths. Over 100,000 people have recovered from the disease.

In an announcement over the weekend, France's Director of Health Jerome Salomon said a loss in smell could be a key element to unlocking COVID-19.

Known as anosmia, the loss of the olfactory sense is said to be one of the major symptoms as the virus attacks and infects the central nervous system.

The revelation is supported by two recent articles in the journals Journal of Clinical Virology and Chemical Neuroscience.