Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was diagnosed with coronavirus ten days ago, spent the night last night in the hospital for a thorough examination.
Contaminated by the new coronavirus and now hospitalised, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “remains in control”, according to his team, but leaves Downing Street without a captain at a time when the pandemic is worsening dramatically in the United Kingdom.
The Coronavirus Covid-19 has already killed nearly 5,000 people on British soil, including a five-year-old child, and daily reports have worsened throughout the past week, surpassing those of Italy during the weekend.
Ongoing tests
After being diagnosed ten days ago, Boris Johnson, 55, the only head of state or government of a great power to have been infected, was hospitalized on Sunday 5th April 2020, to undergo new examinations, announced his services, specifying that it was a “precautionary measure”.
This Monday, “he is in the hospital for tests, but he will continue to be kept informed and in control of the government,” Robert Jenrick, Minister for Housing, told the BBC and Communities.
“The Prime Minister had persistent symptoms for ten days,” including fever, said Robert Jenrick.
“He spent the night in the hospital (…) we hope that as a result of these tests he will be able to return to Downing Street as soon as possible.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab will replace him to chair the daily Coronavirus Covid-19 meeting Monday morning. If Boris Johnson were subsequently too ill to exercise his functions as head of government, Mr Raab would assume them.
US President Donald Trump said he was “sure” that his “friend” was going to recover: “He’s someone solid.”
50,000 people tested positive in the country
Boris Johnson was taken to London ‘s St Thomas hospital near Westminster and placed on oxygen, according to the daily The Times . Downing Street did not specify which tests would be carried out.
Dr Rupert Beale, of the Laboratory of Cell Biology of Infections, at the Francis Crick Institute, said in a statement that in such a situation, doctors should in principle monitor “important vital signs such as oxygen saturation”, do blood tests to check your immune response ”and have an electrocardiogram.
In total, almost 50,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, which has become one of the most severely affected countries in Europe.
Faced with the scale of the crisis, Queen Elisabeth II delivered an extraordinary address to the British on Sunday evening, for the fourth time in 68 years of reign, to encourage them to collective resilience and instil in them a message of hope.
“Very frustrating”
Criticized for delaying taking stock of the situation, the government is trying to beef up its response, building disaster hospitals in the field to relieve an overwhelmed health system, promising to multiply the desperately needed tests and unlocking gigantic sums to respond to the economic and social slump.
For Robert Jenrick, the situation must be “very frustrating” for Boris Johnson who until now continued to lead the government’s response to quarantine, from his apartment in Downing Street. The leader also posted video messages to his Twitter account, in which he appeared tired and encouraged his compatriots to stay at home.
Thank you for doing your bit in the fight against #coronavirus.
Stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.
#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/5p2dsucMbK— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 5, 2020
Boris Johnson worked “incredibly hard” during a “particularly intense period” underlined Robert Jenrick.
He “worked non-stop”
According to the left-wing daily The Guardian, “Johnson was more seriously ill than he or his officials were prepared to admit,” and was seen by doctors worried about his breathing.
Some commentators believe that the head of government should have rested during his isolation, calling on him to ease off.
“Boris worked non-stop during his illness and now we see the result,” commented Sarah Vine, a columnist for the Daily Mail tabloid and wife of Minister Michael Gove, close to the head of government.
A Conservative MP advised Boris Johnson to stop imitating Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War. “Unfortunately, he has written too many books on Churchill, (…) he should be Boris Johnson and not try to be someone else,” the politician told the conservative daily The Telegraph.
