British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was spending a second night in intensive care battling the coronavirus which has infected more than 55,000 across the country and killed nearly 6,200.
“He stayed at work for you… now pray at home for him,” The Sun tabloid splashed across its front page Wednesday (Apr 8) while the Daily Express said: “Boris ‘will pull through’.”
Deputising for Johnson, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was “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, leading us through this crisis in short order”.
In an update Tuesday evening, the prime minister’s spokesman said his “condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring.”
He earlier said the 55-year-old Conservative leader was receiving “standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance” and had not required a ventilator.
Johnson is the most high-profile government leader to become infected with COVID-19 and messages of support flooded in from across Britain and the world.
He was admitted to intensive care on Monday evening after spending Sunday night in hospital following concerns he still had a cough and high temperature 10 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
His transfer to intensive care is unprecedented for a prime minister during a national emergency.
For many people, it brought home the seriousness of the disease that has so far seen 6,159 deaths in Britain, with a record 786 more reported in a daily update on Tuesday.
– ‘Work goes on’ –
Despite the record daily death toll, there was more encouraging news with the number of new daily cases remaining at a roughly stable 3,643.
In a round of broadcast interviews, senior minister Michael Gove insisted the “work of government goes on”.
He later said he was now staying at home after a family member displayed mild coronavirus symptoms.
Raab chaired the daily coronavirus meeting in the prime minister’s place on Tuesday.
“There is a clear plan… the government and the cabinet are working together to implement that plan,” Johnson’s spokesman said when asked if there was a power vacuum in Britain.
The country does not have a formal constitutional role of deputy prime minister, and experts said Raab would need the support of the rest of the cabinet to make any big decisions.
The most pressing issue is a review expected next week on whether to continue the nationwide lockdown introduced on Mar 23 to try to stem the spread of COVID-19.
- Source: News websites
