Health Secretary Matt Hancock says Covid-19 infection was like having 'glass in my throat'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed he lost he half a stone while fighting a coronavirus infection, describing the illness as "like having glass in my throat".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, Mr Hancock said he had a "pretty unpleasant experience" battling the symptoms brought on by Covid-19 .

"For me it was short-lived and I was able to come back to work yesterday and I’m in full health," he added.

"But it is worrying. I’ve lost half a stone, it’s quite a serious impact directly. But thankfully for me I could get through it."

Mr Hancock came out of self-isolation on Thursday, a week after he revealed he had contracted coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to self-isolate after also testing positive for Covid-19 last week.

Downing Street confirmed on Thursday that Mr Johnson is still showing symptoms of the virus.

The confirmation came as the number of people to die in care after testing positive for coronavirus spiralled to 2,921.

The new figures released by the Department of Health also revealed 163,194 people had been tested nationwide as of 5pm on Wednesday, 33,718 of which have returned positive results.

The Government has set a target of carrying out 100,000 tests for coronavirus every day by the end of this month.

The goal, announced on Thursday by Mr Hancock, came amid a growing outcry over the lack of testing of NHS staff for Covid-19.

On Wednesday, there was capacity for 12,799 daily tests in England, but only 10,650 people were tested. The government's target by mid-April had been to carry out 25,000 tests per day.

Asked on Friday if he can guarantee 100,000 tests a day will happen by the end of April, Mr Hancock told the BBC: "Yes, it’s got to happen."

"I’ve got a plan to get us there. I’ve set it as a goal. It absolutely is what the nation needs," he added.

The Health Secretary cautioned there was still a "huge amount of work to do" to ensure the UK hits the target set, but said "money is no object" in the UK’s coronavirus fight.

"What matters is getting the country out of this situation as quickly as possible," he said.

"The historians can crawl over what we’ve done. All I can say is hand on heart at each stage I’ve done everything I possibly could, but then new ideas come in and new thoughts come forward."

Coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The virus poses a particular danger to the elderly or people with underlying health conditions.

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