India put a total ban on exports of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that U.S. President Donald Trump has touted as a “game changer" in the fight against Covid-19.
Exports of the drug and its formulations have been prohibited “without any exceptions" and with immediate effect, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in an April 4 order on its website.
The trade regulator had last month restricted overseas shipments of the drug, allowing only limited exceptions such as on humanitarian grounds and for meeting prior commitments.
The new ban reflects India’s rising concern over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, with incidents of community spread emerging from different parts of the country of 1.3 billion people.