Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with COVID-19
British prime minister in hospital for tests as a
‘precautionary step,’ according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
By
ANNABELLE DICKSON AND CHARLIE COOPER 4/5/20, 10:27 PM CET Updated 4/6/20, 8:20
AM CET
LONDON —
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday
night, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus.
In a
statement, a Downing Street spokeswoman said it was a precautionary move and
had been taken "on the advice of his doctor."
“This is a
precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms
of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus," the
spokesperson said.
The prime
minister stayed in hospital overnight, having been admitted earlier on Sunday
evening. Downing Street did not say which hospital he was in, and officials
emphasized that it had not been an emergency admission.
Johnson
confirmed he had tested positive for coronavirus on March 27, and has been
self-isolating in Downing Street ever since, chairing meetings via
videoconference, and having papers and meals left at his door. Ten days on he
is still showing symptoms of the illness, including a high temperature.
Johnson confirmed he had tested positive for coronavirus
on March 27, and has been self-isolating in Downing Street ever since.
While
officials said Johnson remains in charge of the government, and in contact with
his ministers and officials, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will chair Monday
morning’s meeting of the government’s COVID-19 “war cabinet,” officials said.
The Sunday Times reported last month that Raab had been nominated
"designated survivor" should the prime minister be incapacitated.
U.K. Health
Secretary Matt Hancock, who confirmed that he had also tested positive for
coronavirus on the same day as the prime minister, has since recovered and
resumed his public role at the forefront of the government’s pandemic response.
Johnson’s fiancé Carrie Symonds has also been ill with COVID-19 symptoms and is
self-isolating but has not been tested for the virus.
News of
Johnson’s admission to hospital came just over an hour after Queen Elizabeth II
gave a rare televised address, which was pre-recorded last week, to rally
spirits in what she said was an “increasingly challenging time.”
U.S.
President Donald Trump addressed Johnson's hospitalization in a Sunday evening
press conference.
"I
want to stress our nation's well wishes to Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he
wages his own personal fight with the virus," Trump said. "All
Americans are praying for him. He's a friend of mine. He's a great gentleman
and a great leader and he's, as you know, he was brought to the hospital today,
but I'm hopeful and sure that he's going to be fine. He's strong man, strong
person."
Leading
British politicians including Hancock, Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader,
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, also
wished the prime minister well on social media.
Asked about
the prime minister’s health earlier Sunday, Hancock told Sky News that Johnson
was “OK.”
“He has
still got a temperature … I was lucky, I had two pretty rough days and then I
bounced back and some people do get it pretty mildly, and then for others, it’s
very, very serious and the prime minister is not at that end of the spectrum.”
UK health secretary: Follow coronavirus rules or
we’ll ban outdoor exercise
Matt Hancock denies claims that the government’s
previous policy was ‘herd immunity.’
By EDDY WAX
4/5/20, 12:29 PM CET Updated 4/5/20, 12:34 PM CET
U.K. Health
Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the government will ban people from leaving
their homes to exercise if too many people flout social distancing rules.
"If
you don't want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside
of your own home, then you've got to follow the rules," he told the BBC's
Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.
Under the
U.K.'s measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus people can exercise
outside alone or with members of their household.
Hancock
said most people were adhering to social distancing instructions, but said:
"Let's not have a minority spoiling it for everybody."
There has
been concern that people will disregard the government's policy to enjoy a
weekend of sunny weather in the U.K.
Hancock
also attempted to quash the notion that the government's policy had been to
build up "herd immunity" by allowing around 60 percent of the
population to become infected with the virus.
The U.K.'s
Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said publicly in mid-March that herd
immunity would indeed be "an important part of controlling this longer
term."
But Hancock
said Vallance had been "talking about a scientific concept" and not
outlining government policy.
"When
people write articles about all of this, I just want them to know that they're
talking nonsense," the health secretary said.
Hancock
described as "rubbish" remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who
said that the U.K.'s earlier strategy would have "caused a lot of
death."
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