Tag: Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s “mismanagement” of the easing of virus restrictions risks a second wave of infections, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned.

In a Guardian interview, he urged the PM to “get a grip” and restore public confidence in ministers’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

But No 10 said it was proceeding with caution to secure a safe recovery.

It comes as the government is to outline further details of its quarantine plans later.

Home Secretary Priti Patel is to tell MPs that the proposals – which have been met with criticism from many Conservative MPs – are necessary to avoid the risk of another wave of coronavirus infections.

From Monday, the majority of those arriving in the UK will be told to self-isolate for 14 days.

But Portugal’s foreign minister has told the BBC that his government is talking to Home Office officials about a so-called “air bridge” agreement so that tourists returning from his country can avoid the restrictions.

Health minister Edward Argar said he hopes people will be able to go on holiday this year but cautioned “I’m not going to say a particular date on when that might happen”.

“We will have to be guided by how the disease behaves, controlling any risk of a second wave and controlling the disease,” he told BBC Breakfast.

In the Guardian, the Labour leader also said there was a growing concern that Mr Johnson was now “winging it” over moves to reopen schools and relax shielding advice.

Echoing Sir Keir’s criticism of the government, shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have seen an exit from the lockdown with no strategy to make it work.”

The Labour MP said the easing of lockdown restrictions was “the time of maximum danger” and that the party was calling for an “effective” test, trace and isolate strategy, “fast access to testing” and “clear” public messaging.

In one of his first acts as Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer announced he would not indulge in opposition for opposition’s sake.

This was seen as a decisive break from his own party’s recent past.

But now he wants to create more distance between the government and the opposition.

Some say they have noted a more hostile, less consensual tone towards Boris Johnson from Sir Keir.

But, in truth, Sir Keir’s stated policy of “constructive criticism” has already tended to emphasise the latter of those two words at Prime Minister’s Questions.

And his approach today has much in common with his approach before – to put down a marker in case things go wrong.

The Labour leader is determined to stay one step ahead of the government.

So, by raising questions now over the easing of lockdown while doubts remain about the alert level and the efficacy of the track and trace system, he is positioning the party to distance itself further from the government’s approach if the R number goes up.

Source: bbc.com

Boris Johnson will be questioned by senior MPs later amid continued calls for his top adviser to resign.

The prime minister will appear before the Commons Liaison Committee for 90 minutes, during which he will be asked about Dominic Cummings’ controversial lockdown trip to County Durham.

Around 40 Tory MPs have called for Mr Cummings to resign or be fired after his 260-mile journey came to light.

But cabinet minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC it was “time to move on”.

Wednesday’s session, due to begin at 16.00 BST, will be the first time that the PM has faced questions from MPs since the allegations against Mr Cummings emerged at the end of last week.

The bulk of the hearing will be devoted to the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including testing, PPE, schools and the economy, with the section on Mr Cummings’ actions due to last less than 30 minutes.

On Wednesdays Mr Johnson would ordinarily face Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions, but MPs are currently on recess.

Mr Cummings’ decision in March to drive from his London home to his parents’ farm in County Durham with his wife – who had coronavirus symptoms – and his son has dominated the headlines since the story broke on Friday night.

The PM’s chief adviser gave a news conference on Monday, explaining that he decided to make the trip because he felt it would be better to self-isolate in a place where he had options for childcare if required.

He has received the continued support of the prime minister, who said that his aide had acted legally and with integrity.

But cross-party critics have called for Mr Cummings to leave No 10, while junior minister Douglas Ross resigned in protest.

Boris Johnson seems determined not to change his mind and determined to cling on to Dominic Cummings.

The PM’s calculation is a simple one – that we will all move on, with journalists and angry Conservative MPs finding other issues to focus on.

There are an awful lot of very important coronavirus challenges coming down the track – whether schools will go back on Monday, whether test, track and trace is going to be rolled out effectively, whether we get 200,000 tests by the end of the month.

And although about 40 or so Tory MPs have pretty much demanded that Mr Cummings should walk the plank, there’s been no organised campaign to crank up the pressure on the PM to get rid of him, and no big beast – a cabinet minister or the like – demanding he goes.

So, Boris Johnson seems determined to tough it out and take the hit in terms of public opinion.

But does it risk public anger turning into a public readiness to flout some of those locked down rules? Might people say: “I’ll do a Cummings – I’ll interpret the rules in my own way”?

That is perhaps the most serious side to this whole saga.

Sir Bob Neill, Tory MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, is among those calling for Mr Cummings to resign, saying the row had become a “distraction”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Cummings had “real talents and abilities” but “no adviser is indispensable”.

However, in a note to fellow MPs, Danny Kruger, former political secretary to Mr Johnson and now Tory MP for Devizes, said demanding the resignation of Mr Cummings was “basically declaring no confidence in the PM”.

In response, Sir Bob said he didn’t accept this, adding: “This is actually about us wanting to help the prime minister to get back to be able to focus on the key task of pulling the country together.”

Source: bbc.com

Boris Johnson has revealed “contingency plans” were made while he was seriously ill in hospital with coronavirus.

In an interview with the Sun on Sunday, the PM says he was given “litres and litres of oxygen” to keep him alive.

He says his week in London’s St Thomas’ Hospital left him driven by a desire to both stop others suffering and to get the UK “back on its feet”.

Earlier, his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, revealed they had named their baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson.

The names are a tribute to their grandfathers and two doctors who treated Mr Johnson while he was in the hospital with coronavirus, Ms Symonds wrote in an Instagram post.

The boy was born on Wednesday, just weeks after Mr Johnson’s discharge from intensive care.

In his newspaper interview, the prime minister describes being wired up to monitors and finding the “indicators kept going in the wrong direction”.

“It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it,” he’s quoted as saying, adding that he kept asking himself: “How am I going to get out of this?”

Mr Johnson had been diagnosed with coronavirus on March 26 and was admitted to hospital 10 days later. The following day, he was moved to intensive care.

“It was hard to believe that in just a few days my health had deteriorated to this extent,” the prime minister tells the Sun on Sunday.

“The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong.”

His recovery, he says, was down to “wonderful, wonderful nursing”.

Mr Johnson says he felt “lucky”, given so many others were still suffering, adding: “And so if you ask me, ‘Am I driven by a desire to stop other people suffering?’ Yes, I absolutely am.

“But I am also driven by an overwhelming desire to get our country as a whole back on its feet, healthy again, going forward in a way that we can and I’m very confident we’ll get there.”

Fewer patients hospitalised

The total number of reported coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 28,131 – an increase of 621 on Friday’s figure.

However, England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said the number of people being treated in hospitals for the virus had fallen by 13% over the past week.

On Saturday, the government pledged £76m to support vulnerable children, victims of domestic violence and modern slavery, who were “trapped” at home during the lockdown.

The announcement followed reports of a “surge” in violence in the weeks since the lockdown was introduced.

Source: bbc.com

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday became a father again when his partner Carrie Symonds gave birth to a healthy baby boy, just weeks after he himself was hospitalised with coronavirus.

The news came as a surprise, as Symonds, 32, was not thought to be due for several weeks, but both she and the baby were said to be doing “very well”.

Messages of congratulations poured in from across the political spectrum for the couple, who have in recent weeks been confronted with the realities of the global coronavirus outbreak up close.

Johnson, 55, only returned to work on Monday after being hospitalised with COVID-19, including three nights in intensive care during which he later said “things could have gone either way”.

Symonds, a former head of communications for the Conservative party, also reported having symptoms of the virus, although she recovered at home.

“The prime minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning,” a spokesman for the couple said.

“Both mother and baby are doing very well.”

Johnson is reported to have attended the birth at an unnamed state-run National Health Service (NHS) hospital in London.

The prime minister has at least five other children, including four with his second wife, Marina Wheeler, from whom he split in 2018.

He also had a daughter as a result of an extra-marital affair while he was mayor of London, according to a 2013 court case.

Johnson and Symonds, who announced in February that they were engaged, last year became the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street.

However, the new baby will not be the first – former prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron both became fathers while in office.

‘Some good news’

Johnson is the most high-profile world leader to contract COVID-19, and Britain is among the worst hit countries in the global pandemic, with more than 21,000 deaths so far.

But that figure was expected to rise further, as the government begins reporting both deaths in hospital and the wider community, particularly care homes.

The prime minister, who is under pressure to ease lockdown restrictions, spent two weeks recovering from coronavirus at his countryside retreat of Chequers, before returning to work on Monday.

There had been some speculation about his health after aides refused to say if he would attend the weekly prime minister’s questions in parliament on Wednesday.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who deputised for Johnson during his illness, is now expected to step in.

The speaker of the lower House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, was among the first to congratulate the new parents.

“Such happy news amid so much uncertainty; 2020 is certainly a year they will never forget,” he said.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak, who has an office next door to Johnson, said it was “great to hear Downing Street is getting a new resident”.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sent her congratulations and good wishes to the couple and “the wee one”, tweeting: “Some good news.”

Environmental campaigner

Symonds worked on Johnson’s re-election campaign when he was mayor of London, and later rose to become communications chief at the Conservatives.

She left to work for an ocean conservation charity, and uses her Twitter account to speak out against animal cruelty and plastic pollution.

Since the couple began publicly dating in early 2019, she has kept a low profile.

There was a brief controversy when, during Johnson’s campaign for the Conservative leadership last year, police were called to the couple’s south London home after alleged reports of a loud argument.

She moved into Downing Street when he took office in July, but kept out of the campaign for the December general election, in which Johnson secured the Conservatives’ best result since the 1980s.

In February the couple announced they were engaged and were expecting a baby “in the early summer”.

Boris Johnson has spoken on the phone to US President Donald Trump, as his recovery from coronavirus continues.

The prime minister, who is recuperating at his official country residence, is also expected to speak to the Queen by phone this week.

Downing Street said Mr. Johnson is currently not doing any formal government work but is receiving updates from senior colleagues.

No 10 said he had thanked Mr. Trump for his good wishes whilst he was unwell.

A spokesperson added the pair had discussed UK-US cooperation in the fight against the virus and agreed on the importance of a “coordinated international response”.

Earlier No 10 said Mr. Johnson has spoken to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him for the past two weeks, and “senior members of his team”.

Downing Street also said Mr Johnson – who spent nearly a week in the hospital and three nights in intensive care – was “continuing his recovery” at Chequers, his country retreat in Buckinghamshire.

After he was discharged from hospital on 12 April, Mr Johnson – who received oxygen treatment to help his breathing during his stay – praised NHS staff, saying it “could have gone either way”.

His fiancée Carrie Symonds, who is expecting their first child, said she had been through some “very dark times”.

The prime minister is not performing any official engagements at the moment and Mr Raab is expected to stand in for him at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday – the first since the Easter recess.

The PM last chaired the government’s daily virus briefing on 26 March, testing positive for the virus later that evening.

The PM’s anticipated phone conversation with the Queen would be the first for three weeks, No 10 said. Their traditional weekly face-to-face meeting has not taken place since early last month.

The Queen, who celebrated her 94th birthday on Tuesday, is currently in residence at Windsor Castle, having moved there from Buckingham Palace in the middle of March.

Source: reuters.com

Boris Johnson has spent a second night in intensive care as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus.

The PM is being kept at St Thomas’ Hospital in London “for close monitoring”, Downing Street said.

Mr Johnson’s condition is “stable” and he remains in “good spirits”, his spokesman added on Tuesday evening.

Downing Street also confirmed that the planned review into whether the UK’s coronavirus restrictions could be eased would not go ahead on Monday next week.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the PM, has said he was “confident” the PM would recover from this illness, describing him as a “fighter”.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Downing Street coronavirus briefing, he said Mr Johnson was receiving standard oxygen treatment and was breathing without any assistance, such as mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory support.

It is understood there will not be a further update on Mr Johnson’s condition until later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the first patients have been admitted to the NHS Nightingale Hospital in east London – a temporary facility set up at the ExCel conference centre.

The admissions come two weeks after the hospital with a planned capacity of 4,000 was formally announced – although an NHS spokesperson stressed limits had not been reached at other sites in London.

The prime minister was originally admitted to St Thomas’ on Sunday, on the advice of his doctor, after continuing to display symptoms of cough and high temperature 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

Mr Raab said the prime minister was being monitored closely in critical care, as was usual clinical practice.

Describing Mr Johnson as not only a boss but “also a friend”, Mr Raab said: “All of our thoughts and prayers are with the prime minister at this time, with Carrie, and with his whole family.

“And I’m confident he’ll pull through, because if there’s one thing I know about this prime minister, he’s a fighter. And he’ll be back at the helm, leading us through this crisis in short order.”

Buckingham Palace said the Queen had sent a message to Mr Johnson’s family and his pregnant fiancee, Carrie Symonds, saying she was thinking of them, and wished the PM a full and speedy recovery.

Prince William also tweeted a personal message of sympathy to the PM’s family, signing it off with his initial “W”, while his father, the Prince of Wales, sent a message from himself and the Duchess of Cornwall wishing Mr Johnson a “speedy recovery”, Clarence House said.

At the briefing, Mr Raab was also asked about whether his role deputising for Mr Johnson gave him full prime ministerial responsibility.

The foreign secretary said he was standing in for the prime minister “whenever necessary” – including leading the daily meetings of the coronavirus “war cabinet”.

He said decisions would be made by “collective cabinet responsibility – so that is the same as before”.

“But we’ve got very clear directions, very clear instructions from the prime minister, and we’re focused with total unity and total resolve on implementing them so that when he’s back, I hope in very short order, we will have made the progress that he would expect and that the country would expect,” Mr Raab added.

Source: bbc.com

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “in good spirits” after spending the night in intensive care being treated for coronavirus, No 10 has said.

A spokesman said Mr Johnson, 55, was stable overnight, is being given oxygen and is not on a ventilator.

It comes as Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove became the latest politician to self-isolate after a family member showed symptoms.

Mr Gove said he did not have symptoms and was continuing to working at home.

Mr Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital in central London with “persistent symptoms” of Covid-19 on Sunday and was moved to intensive care on Monday at 19:00 BST after his symptoms worsened.

The Queen has sent a message to Mr Johnson’s family and his pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds, saying they were in her thoughts and that she wished the prime minister a full and speedy recovery, Buckingham Palace said.

In a statement on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits. He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and is breathing without any other assistance.

“He has not required mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory support.”

A ventilator takes over the body’s breathing process when disease has caused the lungs to fail.

Mr Johnson does not have pneumonia, Downing Street added.

Dr Jon Bennett, president of the British Thoracic Society, said it was “heartening” the PM was receiving “standard oxygen treatment” – through his nose or via a face mask – because in more serious cases it would be delivered through mechanical support, such as continuous positive airway pressure, high flow nasal oxygen or more invasive ventilators.

The spokesman said that the mood in government is “determined”, and ministers have a very clear plan set out by Mr Johnson for responding to the pandemic.

The prime minister’s weekly audience with the Queen will not go ahead, although she will be kept regularly informed about his condition, the spokesman added.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Gove pledged that if there is any change in his condition “No 10 will ensure the country is updated”.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is deputising for the PM and chaired the government’s daily coronavirus meeting on Tuesday.

As first secretary of state, Mr Raab is the minister designated to stand in for Mr Johnson if he is unwell and unable to work.

Mr Raab said earlier there was an “incredibly strong team spirit” behind the prime minister and that he and his colleagues were making sure they implemented plans that Mr Johnson had instructed them to deliver “as soon as possible”.

Some politicians have called for greater clarity on what Mr Raab’s role as deputy entails, including Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, who asked for details “as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies”.

Lord Heseltine, who served as deputy prime minister under John Major, said it will be a “very difficult personal position” for Mr Raab, who “will be tested by the loneliness of the job”.

“He will be surrounded by lots of people who know what Boris Johnson said, believe Boris will be quickly back and have their own personal agendas anyway,” he said.

Former cabinet member and Tory peer Baroness Morgan told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett Show that while Mr Raab was “incredibly capable”, there was “no way that he would have wanted to be in this situation”.

She added: “I think the reason that people have been so stunned and taken aback and feel so involved with the prime minister’s health, is because Boris Johnson is prime minister, he gets a lot of coverage.

“Obviously, he was very front and centre in an election campaign, which seems like a million years ago but was only a couple of months ago, and people invest an awful lot of hope in their leaders at this time of national crisis.”

Mr Gove is the latest cabinet minister to self-isolate, after Mr Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.

The government’s chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, and the PM’s adviser, Dominic Cummings, also spent time self-isolating after showing symptoms.

Mr Johnson’s condition means his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant with their first child, is unable to visit him in hospital.

She said at the weekend that she is “on the mend” after herself being forced to self-isolate after displaying symptoms of the disease.

Meanwhile, world leaders and fellow politicians have sent messages to Mr Johnson wishing him well.

Newly-elected Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described it as “terribly sad news”, adding: “All the country’s thoughts are with the prime minister and his family during this incredibly difficult time.”

Russia’s Vladimir Putin wished Mr Johnson a speedy recovery, saying he was “convinced that your energy, optimism and sense of humour will help you overcome the disease”.

And US President Donald Trump said Americans “are all praying for his recovery”, describing Mr Johnson as “a very good friend of mine and a friend to our nation” who is “strong” and “doesn’t give up”.

Source: bbc.com

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care in hospital after his coronavirus symptoms “worsened”, Downing Street has said.

Mr Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise “where necessary”, a spokesman added.

The prime minister, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital in London with “persistent symptoms” on Sunday.

The spokesman said he was moved on the advice of his medical team and is receiving “excellent care”.

A statement read: “Since Sunday evening, the prime minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

“Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital.”

It continued: “The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.”

Source: bbc.com

Boris Johnson says he is in “good spirits” after spending the night in hospital with coronavirus.

The PM was taken to St Thomas’ Hospital in London on Sunday evening with “persistent symptoms” – including a temperature and a cough – for routine tests.

He remains in charge of government, although Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab chaired Monday’s coronavirus meeting.

Mr Johnson, 55, tested positive for coronavirus 10 days ago.

In a tweet, he said he was “keeping in touch with my team as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe”.

He also thanked the “brilliant NHS staff” taking care of him and other patients, adding: “You are the best of Britain”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said he remained in hospital “under observation”, and described Russian reports that Mr Johnson had been placed on a ventilator as “disinformation”.

He is continuing to receive updates and briefings in hospital, the spokesman added.

Last month, the prime minister’s spokesman said if Mr Johnson was unwell and unable to work, Mr Raab, as the first secretary of state, would stand in.

Earlier, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said he hoped the prime minister would be back in Downing Street “as soon as possible”.

“He’s been working extremely hard leading the government and being constantly updated. That’s going to continue,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“I’m sure this is very frustrating for him, for somebody like Boris who wants to be hands [on] running the government from the front, but nonetheless he’s still very much in charge of the government,” he added.

US President Donald Trump is among those who has sent his wishes to Mr Johnson.

“All Americans are praying for him. He’s a great friend of mine, a great gentleman and a great leader,” Mr Trump said, adding that he was sure the prime minister would be fine because he is “a strong person”.

And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he hoped the prime minister had a “speedy recovery”.

Health minister Nadine Dorries, who herself tested positive for coronavirus last month, said many of those with the virus would be “felled” by fatigue and a high temperature and use isolation to sleep and recover.

“Boris has risked his health and worked every day on our behalf to lead the battle against this vile virus,” she said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, the former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake said it may be “sensible” for Mr Johnson to “step back” if he is not well enough to carry out his role for now.

“I think in the end if he’s not well, he will have to reflect on this because the job’s tough at the best of times and it’s doubly tough now,” he told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Source: bbc.com

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday in what Downing Street said was a “precautionary step” because he was showing persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.

“On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests,” Downing Street said.

“This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus,” Downing Street said.

News of his hospitalisation came only after an hour after Queen Elizabeth delivered a rallying call to the British public saying they would overcome the coronavirus outbreak if they stayed resolute.

Johnson, 55, on March 27 became the first leader of a major power to announce that he had tested positive. He went into isolation at an apartment in Downing Street and said on Friday he was staying there as he still had a high temperature.

Downing Street underscored that this was not an emergency admission and that Johnson remained in charge of the government. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will chair the government’s emergency COVID-19 meeting on Monday, a source said.

With only an unwieldy collection of sometimes ancient and contradictory precedents to go by, there is no simple, formally-enshrined “Plan B” or succession scenario should the prime minister become incapacitated.

The pound briefly fell 0.4% vs the U.S. dollar to $1.2215 before trimming some losses to trade at $1.2230, down 0.3%.

Queen Elizabeth had been informed of Johnson’s admission to hospital, Buckingham Palace said. It made no further comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Johnson was a “strong man” as he passed on his nation’s best wishes.

“All Americans are praying for him,” Trump told a news conference. “He’s a friend of mine, he’s a great gentleman and a great leader, and as you know he went to the hospital today but I’m hopeful and sure that he’s going to be fine.”

Coronavirus in the UK

Johnson, the face of the 2016 Brexit campaign, won a resounding election victory in December before leading the United Kingdom out of the European Union on Jan. 31.

But he has faced criticism in the United Kingdom for initially approving a much more modest response to the novel coronavirus outbreak than other major European leaders, telling a news conference on March 3 that he had been shaking hands with coronavirus patients.

He then changed tack when scientific projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in the United Kingdom.

Johnson effectively shuttered the world’s fifth-largest economy, advising people to stay at home and the elderly or infirm to isolate themselves for weeks.

But the virus has penetrated the British government.

Johnson and his health minister tested positive last month and his chief medical adviser also self isolated. Johnson’s pregnant 32-year-old fiancee, Carrie Symonds, also had symptoms but said on Saturday she was feeling better.

From an apartment above Number 11 Downing Street, and with food brought to his door, Johnson continued to lead the government’s response and chaired meetings via video conference.

<video=96289>

He has posted a series of video messages on Twitter since then, initially appearing in a suit and tie but in the latest post on Friday, he appeared weary, sitting in a chair with his shirt open at the neck.

“Although I’m feeling better and I’ve done my seven days of isolation, alas I still have one of the symptoms, a minor symptom, I still have a temperature,” he said.

Britain’s National Health Service guidelines stipulate that those who suspect they have coronavirus should not leave home.

Under a section headlined “What to do if you need medical help while self-isolating”, it says: “If you need medical help for any reason, do not go to places like a GP (family doctor) surgery, pharmacy or hospital.”

Health officials said on Sunday the UK death toll from the coronavirus had risen by 621 to 4,934.

Downing Street refused to say what tests Johnson was to have in hospital, but experts said a person of the prime minister’s age with COVID-19 symptoms after 10 days would be likely be assessed for their oxygen levels, lung, liver and heart functions, and undergo an electrocardiogram heart check.

Doctors managing COVID-19 patients had reported that more men than women had serious problems and patients who were overweight or had previous health issues were at a higher risk.

Earlier this year, Johnson said he needed to lose weight.

“We don’t know exactly why the PM has gone to hospital except we have been told he is having tests,” said Derek Hill, professor of medical imaging science at University College London.

“Many people attending hospital with COVID-19 have difficulty breathing. Some people are rapidly discharged. Some others can quickly deteriorate and need help breathing. We have no reason to believe the PM needs such help.”</video=96289>

Source: France24

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement on Monday announcing strict new coronavirus restrictions was watched by more than 27 million, according to overnight figures.

His televised address was seen by 15.4 million viewers on BBC One, while 5.7 million tuned in to ITV and 1.6 million saw it on Channel 4.

An additional 4.4 million watched on the BBC News Channel and Sky News.

That makes it the most-watched broadcast for years.

The Channel 4 and ITV ratings include +1 figures. The statement was also streamed on Amazon Prime.

The previous most-watched broadcast in recent years was the London Olympics Closing Ceremony in 2012, viewed by 24.5 million.

People in the UK are now living under strict new measures following the PM’s announcement.

They can only leave their homes to buy essential items, exercise once a day, and travel for work were “absolutely necessary” or for any medical need.

Source: bbc.com