UPDATE: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care on Monday, according to the BBC.
A statement from Downing Street said, “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital.”
Original story below:
Ten days after falling ill with coronavirus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to the hospital for tests. According to Downing Street, this is a “precautionary step” as Johnson is still showing symptoms of the virus.
“The Prime Minister thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government’s advice to stay at home, protect the [National Health System] and save lives,” a spokesperson said.
According to the Sunday Times, some government officials believe Johnson had been hiding how bad his symptoms were. “He is coughing and sputtering through these video calls,” a participant said. “He looks dreadful.”
Johnson drew criticism for his initial response to the virus, recommending the United Kingdom essentially continue to function as normal, hoping the population would eventually reach herd immunity. But following a report from the Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that said the state-run National Health Service would soon be overwhelmed with sick and dying patients, Johnson switched tacts and called for more restrictive measures but falling short of a mandated stay-at-home order.
