Speaking at the daily briefing in Downing Street today, Mr Hancock said more patients were need to take part in trials, which could be key in finding the best way to cure the virus. It came as a further 42 people died from the disease in Yorkshire, bringing the total to at least 204. Nationally, the death toll has increased by 684 to 3,645 fatalities. Mr Hancock said: “We are bringing together some of the finest research minds in the country to design new trials and we’re delivering them at record pace “We have established three national clinical trials covering each major stage of the disease – primary care, hospital care and critical care for the most seriously ill. “Just like the Nightingale hospital, one of these was put together in just nine days which is breathtaking speed. “These trials are looking at the effectiveness of existing drugs and steroids, re-purposed for treatment for Covid-19. “One of the trials, which is called recovery and deals in hospital care, is the largest of its kind in the world, with 926 patients involved.” Join our new coronavirus Facebook group for the latest confirmed news and advice as soon as we get it Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said it would be months before results are achieved through the trials. He said: “I know that there will be a question about when are we going to get some results from these clinical trials. “And my straight answer to you is I don’t know. I think it’s going to be a few months but it will all depend on how quickly patients are recruited into the trials across the NHS. “The faster we go in getting bigger numbers in the trials, the clearer and more emphatic and more granular signals we will get about what works and who it works for.” He added: “This is a new disease where at the moment we do not have any proven treatments. “The UK is absolutely determined, however, to find effective treatments for this virus disease. “Weeks ago, we began to look at clinical trials. We may not have publicised it at that point but a lot of work has been going on for weeks behind the scenes. “Clinical trials are a gold standard way to discover if a treatment works or not, but saying whether it works or not is rather too simplistic. “The treatment has to be effective, it also has to be safe and we also have to understand the right dosage to use, the right patients to give the treatment to and the right time in the illness to give that treatment.” Prof Van-Tam added: “This is complicated stuff and the only way to unpick the signal and make sure we get it right is through clinical trials.” ------------------------ Editor’s note: First and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well. Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade. And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help. Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing subscriptions@jpimedia.co.uk. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available. If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country. Sincerely. Thank you. James Mitchinson Editor