How is coronavirus treated?

The vast majority of coronavirus cases are mild, with patients making a full recovery without treatment at home.

For those who develop complications, therapies were initially supportive, like ventilation.

These helped keep the individual alive while their immune system fought off the infection naturally.

No-antiviral drug is yet to be proven to be safe and effective, with these medications therefore not being recommended for coronavirus patients.

Steroid trials have found the anti-inflammatory drugs cut the risk of death among severely-ill COVID patients by up to a third, but are ineffective in milder cases.

This prompted the World Health Organization to recommend specific steroids for those with severe or critical COVID complications.

The drugs are thought to work by dampening inflammation in the lungs of those who require oxygen to help them breathe.