At a time when the global coronavirus scourge has affected over 8 million people, the discovery of a cheap drug by scientists in the UK signals a major light at the end of a tunnel of no-escape from the killer disease. Scientists in the UK have discovered that dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, can cut deaths in severely ill coronavirus patients by a third, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed as the “biggest breakthrough yet”.

Britain’s health minister on Wednesday hailed the use of dexamethasone for treating coronavirus patients as the best news so far of the outbreak.

“It does increase your chances of survival quite significantly,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News. “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,” Hancock said. “It is brilliant news for everybody.”

He said the drug’s potential had first been spotted in February and in March positive signals came so that the government began buying it up in April. Researchers, led by a team from the University of Oxford, administered the drug to more than 2,000 severely ill COVID-19 patients.

Among those who could only breathe with the help of a ventilator, it reduced deaths by 35 per cent.

“Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide,” said Oxford professor Peter Horby.

World Health Organisation head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated scientists for the “lifesaving scientific breakthrough”.

The NHS approved the drug for use within hours of the announcement as the prime minister claimed the government had “turned the tide” of the outbreak and hinted at a relaxation of the two-metre social distancing guidance.

In addition, scientists at London’s Imperial College are to imminently begin human tests on a new coronavirus vaccine using synthetic strands of the virus’s genetic code, in a move dubbed by business secretary Alok Sharma as “testament to the ingenuity and tenacity of Britain’s researchers”.

The vaccine that is being developed by scientists at the college could be made available to the British population for as little as £3 per person. However, this doesn’t dim some alarming facts. In France, a further 73 people have died of coronavirus in nursing homes in the last week, according to the French health ministry – more than double last week’s figure.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a further 496 deaths, bringing the total to 116,140.  A total of 2,104,346 cases of coronavirus have been recorded, an increase of 18,577 cases from its previous count, on 15 June.

Coronavirus lockdowns are lifting around the world, raising concerns that it could trigger a new wave of infections. Already Beijing’s airports cancelled two-thirds of all flights and schools in the Chinese capital were closed again on Wednesday as authorities rushed to contain a new coronavirus outbreak linked to a wholesale food market.  Britain’s health ministry said the drug had been approved for use in the state-run health service, export restrictions had been introduced and 200,000 courses of the treatment had been stockpiled.

Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor co-leading the trial, known as the RECOVERY trial, said, “…For less than 50 pounds ($63), you can treat eight patients and save a life,” he said in an online briefing.

However, dexamethasone is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s list of drugs in shortage, but several manufacturers, including the largest supplier to the United States, say it is available. It remains to be seen whether the steroid will prove what it is cracked up to be: an effective antidote for the killer virus. Among patients with COVID-19 who did not require respiratory support, there was reportedly no benefit from treatment with dexamethasone.

There are no indications of side effects, if any, on the user of the drug.

However, given the desperation of the masses – and the beleaguered medical fraternity across the world – to get the virus off their back, this development is quite highly welcome.