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Another 823 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in hospitals in Britain as of Monday afternoon, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 17,337, the Department of Health and Social Care said Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, 129,044 people have tested positive for COVID-19, marking a daily increase of 4,301, said the department.
At Tuesday's Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, will begin on people from Thursday.
He emphasized that finding a valid vaccine for the virus is the top priority to address the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Meanwhile, Hancock said that the government is in direct talks with factories that actually produce the personal protective equipment (PPE) and the fabric that it is made of.
"This is proved as one of the most fruitful avenues" to acquire PPE, he noted, adding that his colleagues from the Foreign Office and the Department for International Trade, especially in China, have done an incredible job making these connections with factories, he noted.
"We are doing everything we possibly can," he added.
Amid growing concern over the PPE shortage for the frontline medical staff, the Chinese community in Britain donated 30,000 protective medical gowns to the National Health Service (NHS) on Monday.
According to the British Chinese Community Group, by the last weekend, more than 4 million pieces of PPE have been donated by the Chinese businesses, the Chinese community groups and individuals to the NHS and local care homes in Britain.
On April 8, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the UK donated 1.862 million items of medical supplies including 20 ventilators to the Lord Mayor's Appeal, the official charity of City of London.
Earlier in the day, a Downing Street spokesman told reporters that SAGE, the scientific advisory group for emergencies, was meeting Tuesday to discuss its advice on face masks.
Hancock said that the SAGE committee had discussed the issue and he looks forward to hearing their recommendations.
Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, said the Downing Street, adding that Johnson, who is "continuing his recovery", is currently not doing any formal government work.
