The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom (UK) that shows dexamethasone can be lifesaving for treating patients critically ill with COVID-19 as a welcome development.

It however said an in-depth analysis of the intervention will be carried out before issuing clinical guidance on how and when the drug should be used.

WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made this known on Wednesday in a statement.

According to him: “This is welcome news. I congratulate the government of the United Kingdom, University of Oxford, the research groups, hospitals, patients and families who have collectively contributed to this lifesaving breakthrough.

 “WHO looks forward to learning more about the dexamethasone study. This is the first treatment to be shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilator support.

“There are many ongoing clinical trials for COVID-19, including the Solidarity Trial launched by WHO and partners. It is hoped that more treatments under clinical evaluation will result in improving patient outcomes and save lives.

“While we are searching for COVID-19 treatments, we must continue strong efforts to prevent as many infections as possible by finding, isolating, testing and caring for every case; and tracing and quarantining every contact.”