An international hydroxychloroquine trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's pharmaceutical regulator said, less than a week after the trial started amid fresh safety concerns over the drug, according to Reuters.

“The COPCOV trial, led by the University of Oxford and Wellcome-supported MORU in Bangkok, has been paused,” the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement about the trial, which started last Thursday.

Earlier today, the French government cancelled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of Covid-19.