Professor Anthony Gordon, of Imperial College London, was part of a British team investigating the effectiveness of hydrocortisone on people on ventilators in intensive care.

The results of the UK study were compared with those of six others around the world also looking at whether similar corticosteroid drugs could be used in treatment.

“Taking the data from all the seven trials combined, in the patients who weren't treated with steroids, about 40 per cent died from this severe Covid-19,” Gordon told AFP.

“In the groups that were given the various steroids, 32 per cent, roughly, died, so that's a 20 per cent reduction in the risk [...] That means if you treat 100 patients giving them steroids, you would expect to save eight lives, which is really impressive to see a result like that.”

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