Hope In Fight Against Killer Virus

10m to be kept out of schoolTesting will soar to 25k a day

- Hanna Geissler

Scientists are working faster than ever to deliver new treatments and methods of testing in the fight against the killer coronavirus.

A British team received the green light yesterday to begin Phase II human trials of a drug that could help hospital patients fight off infection.

And Boris Johnson revealed that Public Health England is close to perfecting an antibody test that will be a game-changer for diagnosis.

Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said Public Health England’s work on the antibody test is “progressing very fast” and will provide valuable insight into the pandemic.

Sir Patrick said: “It is a gamechanger. It allows you to understand the proportion of the population who’s had this disease but hasn’t had symptoms.

“It’s going to be critically important to be able to monitor this disease well because only by being able to monitor it can we start relaxing measures again.”

New hope of a breakthrough came as the death toll jumped by 33, taking the UK total to 104.

The Government has announced schools will close from tomorrow and it is believed London could soon go into lockdown to slow the spread of the disease.

The PM said up to 25,000 people will soon be swabbed for the virus in hospitals daily, as testing is ramped up.