A life-saving treatment for seriously-ill hospital patients with Covid-19 is being used across the UK from today, following breakthrough results in a UK trial.
Dexamethasone - a cheap, widely-available steroid - was shown to reduce deaths among patients on ventilators and on oxygen.
The UK's chief medical officers say it should be used "with immediate effect".
And there are no issues with supplies of the medicine in the UK.
In an urgent letter from the UK's four chief medical officers to clinicians in the NHS, they said dexamethasone had "a clear place in the management of hospitalised patients with Covid-19".
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons that 240,000 doses of the drug are "in stock and on order".
"It is not by any means a cure but it is the best news we have had," he added.
In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and compared with more than 4,000 who were not.
For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%. For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.
The researchers said this was equivalent to one life being saved for every eight patients on a ventilator and one life being saved for every 20-25 being treated with oxygen.
On Monday 15 June, 385 people with Covid-19 were on mechanical ventilation in hospitals in the UK with hundreds more likely to be on oxygen support.
They could all be candidates for receiving dexamethasone.
The drug works by dampening down the reaction of the body's immune system to on Covid-19, which can often be more harmful than the virus itself.
Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said it was "the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly".
"It's a major breakthrough," he added.
However, it should not be used to treat anyone with coronavirus who is not in hospital. Its use is still being studied in children.
Already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, including arthritis, asthma and some skin conditions, the cost of the drug would be as little as £5 per patient.
The drug is also widely available around the world.
The health secretary has explained why he accidentally called Marcus Rashford "Daniel" while praising him on Sky News for leading a campaign to extend free school meals.
Rashford, 22, succeeded in convincing Boris Johnson to extend free school meals to children from disadvantaged backgrounds through the summer holidays.
Image:Free school meals will be provided to some pupils through the summer holidays
Asked why the government changed its mind after initially refusing, Mr Hancock said: "I'll tell you what happened, the prime minister talked to Daniel Rashford.
"He considered it and made his decision.
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"I think it's terrific."
The minister later told radio station LBC that his child's fondness for JK Rowling novels may have been to blame and "maybe I had Harry Potter on the mind".
More from Marcus Rashford
Mr Hancock later explained confusing Rashford's first name by suggesting he had the Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe on his mind.
"My seven-year-old listens to Harry Potter and reads Harry Potter avidly, including at 5.30 this morning when I got up to do this morning's media round," he told LBC.
Rashford on poverty: 'I've seen how it spirals'
Mr Hancock suggested it had been "too early in the morning" and laughed as he told BBC Breakfast: "I completely misspoke."
England star Rashford, 22, appeared to joke about the incident, responding on Twitter by saying "I've been called much worse over the last couple of days" with a laughing face emoji.
Mr Hancock replied with a head in hands emoji and added: "Too early. But in all seriousness Marcus you're a credit to the nation."
He said he hopes he can use his profile to help change society for the better and that people are now "willing to make that first step towards being heard".
Some of the UK's fee-paying schools are in the process of setting up their own track and trace system to monitor coronavirus so they can reopen for the new academic year "come what may". A governor at one of the private schools said there was "no confidence" left in the Government and headteachers are "furious" with ministers because schools "could have legally and safely opened in this term".
He told the Daily Telegraph: "We have had enough. We will definitely open in September using our own hygiene measures, our own risk-based assessment of social distancing and our own test and trace system.
"There is no confidence left in the Government, given their failed promises. All schools should do the same."
Private schools will use the Government's own legal defence of it's UK-wide lockdown policies to prove schools were never required to close to fight COVID-19.
Submitted to the High Court in response to a judicial review launched by businessman Simon Dolan, it says: "This constituted a request, not a direction.
"The Secretary of State has not exercised his powers to make a closure direction in respect of any school."
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is expected to unveil plans for a summer “catch up” programme for secondary school pupils to ensure they are ready for the new term in September.
European shares opened higher on Wednesday, with hopes of a swift rebound from a coronavirus-led economic slump gaining traction even as curbs on movement in Beijing were put in place to contain a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 percent, after logging its best day in nearly one month in the previous session on the US Federal Reserve's plan to start buying corporate bonds and a report the Trump administration was preparing a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure proposal.
8.11am update: Health Minister hails use of steriod to fight coronavirus
Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News: "It does increase your chances of survival quite significantly.
"It is one of the best pieces of news we've had through this whole crisis.
"It reduces your chances of dying when you are on a ventilator. It is brilliant news for everybody."
7.57am update: Matt Hancock on concerns over Brazil
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Brazil was one country which the UK was worried about new cases of coronavirus arriving from.
Asked at least five times on Sky News what countries meant the quarantine on arrivals was necessary, he said air bridges were still being considered but would not state any other nations other than Brazil.
"It's really sad to see some of the countries like, for instance, Brazil, where the numbers are really shooting up, so we do have to have this measure in place," he said.
"I mentioned Brazil, there are others we are worried about. I'm not going to go into which countries."
7.48am update: NorwegIan Air to resume flights to UK
Airline Norwegian has announced it will resume serving UK airports from July 1 due to increased demand.
The carrier will initially operate flights on four UK routes, connecting Gatwick and Edinburgh with Oslo and Copenhagen.
Since April, Norwegian has only operated domestic flights within Norway due to the collapse in passenger numbers caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
