LONDON: Britain's PM Boris Johnson's condition has worsened since being hospitalised with persistent Covid-19 symptoms and he has been moved into intensive care, his Downing Street office said in a statement on Monday.
"Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the PM has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. The PM has asked foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is the first secretary of state, to deputise for him where necessary," the statement said.
Downing Street said Johnson was conscious and does not require ventilation at the moment, but was in the ICU in case he needed it later.
Hours earlier, Johnson tweeted that he was in good spirits after spending a night in hospital. Johnson was hospitalised on Sunday after he showed "persistent symptoms" of coronavirus 10 days after being diagnosed. The PM was driven to the St Thomas' Hospital in London on Monday, around the same time Queen Elizabeth II gave a rare televised address to reassure the nation amid the pandemic.
Earlier in the day, a Downing Street official refused to comment when asked by TOI on media reports claiming that Johnson had received oxygen treatmen t. " He is still in hospital and remains under observation. We are not giving a running commentary on the tests he has had or his condition. Since his Covid-19 symptoms remained persistent 10 days after testing positive for the virus, he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, not an emergency," the official said.
Johnson revealed that he had tested positive for coronavirus on March 26 via a video posted on Twitter. In self-isolation, he has been chairing weekly cabinet meetings and a daily "war cabinet" on the government virus response via videolink since then. Raab chaired the meeting on Monday.
Speaking at the government's daily coronavirus press briefing, Raab said Johnson was being "regularly updated", but admitted he had not spoken to him since Saturday. "He's in charge, but he'll continue to take doctors' advice on what to do next," Raab said.
Were Raab to fall ill, then finance secretary Rishi Sunak would take over. Sunak tweeted: "Wishing the boss @BorisJohnson a speedy recovery. You're in good hands." The other PIO cabinet ministers, Alok Sharma and Priti Patel, also wished PM a speedy recovery.
Colleagues said the PM had been coughing and "looked increasingly rough" during the past week, pointing out he had not taken any rest.
"Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the PM has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. The PM has asked foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is the first secretary of state, to deputise for him where necessary," the statement said.
Downing Street said Johnson was conscious and does not require ventilation at the moment, but was in the ICU in case he needed it later.
Hours earlier, Johnson tweeted that he was in good spirits after spending a night in hospital. Johnson was hospitalised on Sunday after he showed "persistent symptoms" of coronavirus 10 days after being diagnosed. The PM was driven to the St Thomas' Hospital in London on Monday, around the same time Queen Elizabeth II gave a rare televised address to reassure the nation amid the pandemic.
Earlier in the day, a Downing Street official refused to comment when asked by TOI on media reports claiming that Johnson had received oxygen treatmen t. " He is still in hospital and remains under observation. We are not giving a running commentary on the tests he has had or his condition. Since his Covid-19 symptoms remained persistent 10 days after testing positive for the virus, he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, not an emergency," the official said.
Johnson revealed that he had tested positive for coronavirus on March 26 via a video posted on Twitter. In self-isolation, he has been chairing weekly cabinet meetings and a daily "war cabinet" on the government virus response via videolink since then. Raab chaired the meeting on Monday.
Speaking at the government's daily coronavirus press briefing, Raab said Johnson was being "regularly updated", but admitted he had not spoken to him since Saturday. "He's in charge, but he'll continue to take doctors' advice on what to do next," Raab said.
Were Raab to fall ill, then finance secretary Rishi Sunak would take over. Sunak tweeted: "Wishing the boss @BorisJohnson a speedy recovery. You're in good hands." The other PIO cabinet ministers, Alok Sharma and Priti Patel, also wished PM a speedy recovery.
Colleagues said the PM had been coughing and "looked increasingly rough" during the past week, pointing out he had not taken any rest.
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