Boris Johnson “stable and in good spirits” in hospital

The British Prime Minister was moved to an intensive care unit on Monday night as his coronavirus symptoms worsened.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson | Photo credit: Press Association Images

By Martin Banks

Martin Banks is a senior reporter at the Parliament Magazine

07 Apr 2020

UK leader Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit on Monday night, 24 hours after being admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London with COVID-19. Downing Street said Johnson had asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him “where necessary.”

Boris Johnson is "stable and in good spirits" after his first night in intensive care being treated for the coronavirus, according to a government spokesperson.

EU officials have said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were among those wishing Johnson well.

While US President Donald Trump said he hoped his "really good friend" would have a speedy recovery.

The US leader also revealed he had instructed American doctors to contact the NHS to offer Mr Johnson a "complex treatment of things they've just recently developed".

Merkel said at her first press conference since returning to work from self-quarantine that the coronavirus pandemic “presents the EU with its biggest ever test.”

Elsewhere, the World Health Organization said it wanted to use World Health Day (April 7) to spread awareness around maintaining good health and a balanced lifestyle.

A WHO spokesman said, “This year’s World Health Day theme couldn’t be more apt as it is dedicated to honour the indefatigable work of nurses and midwives across the globe. On this day, the WHO calls for people to extend their gratitude and support nurses and midwives across the world.”

The WHO has named this year the ‘International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife’.

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