NHS Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis speaks during a daily news conference on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain April 26, 2020. Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is now seeing a very definite downward trend in the number of people who are in hospital with the new coronavirus, the national medical director of England’s health service said on Sunday.

“We now have a very definite trend in reduced number of people in hospitals. That is most marked in London but you can also see that in the Midlands and the beginnings of that in other areas of the UK,” National Medical Director of NHS England Stephen Powis told a news conference.

“That is definitely showing that our compliance with social distancing is proving to be beneficial, it is reducing the transmission and spread of the virus.”