Boris Johnson stable after second night in intensive care
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care but is in a stable condition after receiving oxygen support.
Johnson tested positive for coronavirus nearly two weeks ago and was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital in London on Sunday night. On Monday evening he was admitted into intensive care after his condition deteriorated.
The PM has not been put on a ventilator and his designated deputy, foreign secretary Dominic Raab, said he would soon be back running the country.
Raab said yesterday that Boris Johnson had given him instructions relating to coronavirus to him and the rest of the cabinet.
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Collectively they will have the power to make national security decisions but Raab will not have weekly meetings with the Queen.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deputise should Raab become incapacitated.
“He is comfortable, he’s stable, he’s in good spirits,” Edward Argar, a junior health minister, said of Johnson. “While he’s had oxygen, he hasn’t been on a ventilator.”
It came as the death toll in England increased sharply yesterday. A further 786 people died from coronavirus, bringing the total number to 6,159.
Number 10 suggested the three-week review into whether the lockdown could be eased would not go ahead as planned on Monday. Argar said the scientific evidence “isn’t yet there to allow us to make us a decision”.
“We have to be over that peak before we can think about making changes,” he said, adding: “It’s too early to say when we will reach that peak.”
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