British health officials on Friday warned the public against using unproven treatments for COVID-19, after US President Donald Trump suggested injecting patients with disinfectant.

Trump's remarks on Thursday about whether it would be possible to inject light and disinfectant into the body to cure the disease sparked outrage among experts and medical professionals.

Asked specifically about the comments, England's deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said had no "specific message" for the US president.

"I'd have the specific message to anybody who suggested they should be injecting anything into their bodies," she told a daily briefing on the government's response to the outbreak.

"Clearly we would not support it from a medical professional perspective.

"It is really important that people use appropriate treatments that are evidence-based and tested... that we know will be safe."

See Also: Trump says spoke 'sarcastically' about injecting disinfectants

British researchers this week began human trials into a possible vaccine for COVID-19, and work is underway to determine whether existing drugs can help treat the illness.

With the United States, Britain has reported high numbers of positive cases and deaths. Latest figures showed there were 19,506 hospital deaths to 1600 GMT on Thursday since the pandemic began.

But the real figure is expected to be higher once deaths in the community are taken into account.