Washington, May 21 (IANS): US President Donald Trump has said that he will finish his preventive hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) regimen "in a day or two."

"I think the regimen finishes in a day or two. I think it's in two days," Trump told reporters at a White House event on Wednesday.

The comments came two days after he announced he had taken the anti-malaria drug on a daily basis for some two weeks as a preventative measure against the novel coronavirus, reports Xinhua news agency.

At the White House briefing on Tuesday, Trump said he began taking HCQ "as a frontline defence" after his valet and Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for COVID-19.

After the two of them tested positive, "I thought, you know, from my standpoint, not a bad time to take it, because we had the combination of those -- the two people", he said.

Trump has frequently touted HCQ as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, despite warnings that it can cause heart problems.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned last month against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 "outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems".

"Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19," the FDA said in a statement.

"They are being studied in clinical trials for COVID-19."