Top comment alludes to the stage of the disease as being important. So when we talk severity, is it severity by stage? Or overall severity? How will these drugs help when the disease has already attacked the lungs causing the large immuno response?

One common answer to all questions about covid: we don't know. All we have is extremely preliminary evidence, and we're acting on it in hope of luck and also just to provide people with something to cling to.

Isn't lopinavir-ritonavir already verified it doesn't help?

Chloroquine has shown promising results but the number of cases was small and the study was flawed. Lopinavir-ritonavir has shown disappointing results but the number of cases was small and the study was flawed. If you show faith in one you've got to show faith in the other for the sake of methodological consistency.

Read the article. Despite poor results from China, WHO feels larger testing against a wider variety of patients is warranted.