- 10 Downing Street says no cause for alarm
- To undergo test on lungs, heart, other vital organs
- Pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds also positive
Growing concerns about his health condition seriously deteriorating have seen the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson being admitted in hospital for treatment due to the coronavirus attack late on Sunday.
The decision to have him moved into intensive care was informed by the Prime Minister suffering 10 successive days of COVID-19 symptoms, including a high fever.
Despite No 10 Downing Street officially insisting that the move is purely precautionary, insiders said Johnson’s worsening health has raised huge concerns and doubts about his capability to lead the required robust response to the pandemic
The Prime Minister was taken to an unnamed London hospital on Sunday after days of persistent symptoms, during which time he has been in self-isolation.
Last week, No 10 Downing Street had denied the Prime Minister was more seriously ill than claimed in the public space.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests. This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.”
According to the spokesperson, Johnson would stay in hospital “as long as needed”.
However, officials were keen to stress that this was not an emergency admission, and that Johnson will remain in charge of government, and will be in regular touch with colleagues and civil servants.
A government source told Reuters on Monday morning that Johnson had spent the night in hospital.
In the event that his condition worsens, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, is the designated Minister to take charge of government affairs.
Raab was expected to chair a 9.15am Monday meeting of the government’s C-19 committee, which leads the response to the pandemic.
Given the uncertainty, the Pound fell against the Dollar and Euro overnight on Monday as foreign exchange markets took fright at the possibility of Johnson being out of action for a longer period.
Johnson had hoped to leave quarantine on Friday but his persistent temperature meant he had to remain inside his flat at No 11 Downing Street.
The Guardian learnt last week that Johnson was more seriously ill than either he or his officials were prepared to admit, and that he was being seen by doctors who were concerned about his breathing.
But Downing Street flatly denied that his health had seriously deteriorated, and insisted there were no plans at that point for him to be admitted to hospital.
Asked early on Sunday, just how ill the Prime Minister was, Health Secretary, Matt Hancock told Sophy Ridge: “He’s OK. I’ve been talking to him every day, several times a day … he’s very much got his hand on the tiller. But he’s still got a temperature.”
“He’s working away inside Downing Street. He’s in good spirits”, said Hancock who himself only recently come out of isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, although his symptoms appear to have been notably milder.
Johnson’s partner, Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant, revealed on Saturday that she had also been suffering from the virus but is recovering.
While No 10 Downing Street did not say what tests Johnson would undergo in hospital, experts said they would be likely to focus on assessing how the Prime Minister’s lungs, heart and other organs were responding to the virus. – With agency reports
