The Food and Drug Administration will announce emergency use authorization for the antiviral drug remdesivir, after preliminary results from a federal trial showed the drug could speed recovery in patients infected with the coronavirus. The finding, which has not yet been peer reviewed, came after another study, published in The Lancet medical journal, found no benefit for the drug in severely ill patients in China. The new results suggest a moderate improvement in the death rate of patients taking remdesivir, whose hospital stays were shortened, on average, from 15 days to 11. At the White House, top coronavirus task force scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci welcomed news of the first potential treatment for COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: “Although a 31% improvement doesn’t seem like a knockout 100%, it is a very important proof of concept, because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.”

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that any L.A. resident who wants a coronavirus test can get one, for free, at city-run testing sites. The tests are by appointment only at 35 testing sites across L.A. County.