NATIONWIDE -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning against the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial.

• RELATED: 
  • More Deaths, No Benefit From Malaria Drug in Veterans Administration Virus Study
  • Probe Sought in Trump Administration's Ouster of Scientist

The drugs -- widely touted by President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19 -- are typically used for other medical conditions, such as malaria and lupus, but have been administered by clinicians as a test treatment for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

But the FDA says there are reports of some coronavirus patients experiencing serious heart rhythm problems.

So the agency is advising doctors not to prescribe them for patients to take at home.