LONDON – Prime Minister Boris Johnson was resting in hospital on Friday, recovering from novel coronavirus (COVID-19), while his fellow Britons were told to resist the temptation of spring sunshine over Easter as the coronavirus outbreak approaches a peak.
The flamboyant 55-year-old leader’s visible decline shook the nation, but he came out of three nights of intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital on Thursday, having been admitted after suffering from a high temperature and cough.
“The prime minister is back on a ward and continuing his recovery, which is at an early stage,” his spokesman told reporters.
“I was told he was waving his thanks to all of the nurses and doctors he saw as he was moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward. The hospital said that he was in extremely good spirits last night.”
Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalised with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s situation worsened drastically.
The death toll is 7 978 – the fifth highest in the world.
Despite his condition improving, it remained unclear how long Johnson would be incapacitated. His spokesman said his recovery was only just beginning and he would take advice from his medical team.
“He must rest up,” his father, Stanley Johnson, told BBC radio. “You cannot walk away from this and go straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”
Johnson’s pregnant fiancée, Carrie Symonds, who has also had coronavirus symptoms, tweeted a rainbow picture – in support of healthcare workers – along with hand-clapping emojis. (Reuters)
