It was announced in Brisbane today that Clive Palmer had donated $1 million to the Royal Brisbane Hospital to fight coronavirus.
Mr Palmer donated the money online yesterday to the RBWH Foundation Coronavirus Action Fund.
University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research director Professor David Paterson had stated earlier in the week that he had seen two drugs used to treat other conditions that can wipe out the virus in test tubes.
He said one of the medications, given to some of the first people to test positive for COVID-19 in Australia, had already resulted in ‘disappearance of the virus’ and complete recovery from the infection.
“What we want to do at the moment is a large clinical trial across Australia, looking at 50 hospitals, and what we’re going to compare is one drug, versus another drug, versus the combination of the two drugs,” Prof Paterson said.
Prof Paterson, who is also an infectious disease physician at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, said it wasn’t a stretch to label the drugs ‘a treatment or a cure’.
The RBWH Foundation had established a Coronavirus Action Fund. By Monday afternoon it had raised $30,000 of the desired $750,000 for the clinical drug trials and other related medical research. “The trials will start as soon as funding is secured,” the fund stated.
In donating the $1 million, Clive Palmer said there was now no reason why the trials could not commence immediately so treatment could soon be available for all Australians.
“At this time of national crisis in our country all Australians must do whatever they can to help their fellow Australians,’’ Mr Palmer said.
“There are many other Australians beside me that can provide financial support necessary to allow our medical resources to be deployed in the shortest possible time to save lives.
“I want all Australians who have done well in this country to remember their fellow Australians and the sacrifices that have been made by previous generations and dig deep to support all efforts necessary to defeat this threat to our lives.”
ENDS