MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2020) UK Secretary of Health and Social Care Matt Hancock conducted his first public appearance after recovering from COVID-19 as he took part in the country's daily press briefing on the coronavirus disease on Thursday.
"I've been away for a week now and I'm delighted to be back," Hancock stated.
Hours after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, Hancock also revealed that he had contracted the disease and was entering self-isolation. The health secretary had minor symptoms and hospitalization was not required.
During the press briefing, the health secretary announced plans to conduct 100,000 tests for COVID-19 per day by the end of April.
Earlier in the day, the UK Department of Health and Social Care reported the largest day-on-day increase in both the number of new COVID-19 positive tests and the number of deaths caused by the disease.
As of 09:00 GMT on Thursday, 33,718 people in the UK have contracted COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, after 4,244 new positive tests were recorded in the preceding 24 hours.
The UK death toll now stands at 2,921 as of 17:00 GMT on Wednesday, after 569 new deaths were reported by the health authorities.
