Boris Johnson has been transferred to intensive care in hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened.
He was moved on the recommendation of his medical team and is getting wonderful care, and Dominic Raab is to deputise where required.
The Queen has been kept notified about Boris Johnson’s well-being by No 10.
Throughout Monday afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the recommendation of his medical team, he’s been transferred to the intensive care unit at the hospital.
Dominic Raab said that there’s been an especially strong team spirit behind the Prime Minister, and he added that he and his colleagues were making sure they realised the plans that Boris Johnson had instructed them to address as soon as possible.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said his thoughts were with the Prime Minister and his pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds, and that the Prime Minister would come out of this even stronger, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described it as extremely sad news.
There’s been precious little information shared today about the Prime Minister until he was taken into intensive care at about 7 pm.
The Prime Minister is still conscious, but his health has worsened throughout the afternoon, and being in intensive care changes everything because intensive care is where doctors look after the sickest patients and his admission to ICU is the clearest indication of how unwell the Prime Minister is – the only good thing is that Boris Johnson is awake and is not being ventilated at this time.
Not every patient in intensive care is ventilated, but around two-thirds are within 24 hours of admission with COVID 19 because the disease attacks the lungs and can cause pneumonia and problems breathing.
This leaves the body struggling to get enough oxygen into the blood and to the body’s vital organs.
There’s no documented drug treatment for COVID 19, although there are numerous experimental candidates. The cornerstone of the Prime Minister’s care will depend on getting enough oxygen into his body and supporting his other organs while his immune system battles the virus.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was sending Boris Johnson every good wish, while Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster added she was praying for a full and expeditious recovery.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his thoughts were with the Prime Minister and his family and praised NHS staff for their hard work and commitment.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he hoped Boris Johnson overcomes this ordeal swiftly, and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted that St Thomas’s Hospital has some of the finest medical staff in the world and that the Prime Minister couldn’t be in safer hands.
We might not all be Tory supporters, but Boris Johnson is in grave peril now. However, Boris Johnson has exceptional drive, and I’m sure he will strive to win through this virus, and it shouldn’t matter which party we’re supporting, we should be wishing our Prime Minister a quick recovery and everyone else touched by this virus.
And in these times we must cross from politics and gather humanity and standing, and regardless of the situation, we shouldn’t wish death or bad on anyone, imagine if he was one of your family members?
Coronavirus is an equal opportunity virus. It doesn’t discriminate against anyone.
