Michael Gove says Boris Johnson is ‘not on a ventilator’ in intensive care
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not been put on a ventilator but has received oxygen support as he remains in intensive care with coronavirus, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said.
Johnson was placed in intensive care at around 7pm last night after his condition worsened. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will be in charge while the Prime Minister is ill.
The PM went into St Thomas’s Hospital in London on Sunday because his coronavirus symptoms – including a cough and a high temperature – had not improved for around 10 days.
Gove today told LBC radio that Johnson’s health had suffered a “deterioration”. He said Johnson, who is 55, entered intensive care because his “medical team thought it was appropriate”.
Gove said being in intensive care will ensure the PM “can be appropriately monitored and supported”.
The Cabinet Office minister said Johnson is “not on a ventilator [although] the Prime Minister has received some oxygen support”. He added: “If there is further support he needs then it’s there at hand.”
“If there’s any change in the prime minister’s condition then there’ll be an official statement and briefing from number 10,” Gove said.
Gove said Raab “will be chairing cabinet meetings and other related meetings throughout today”.
Johnson illness a blow to the government
The Prime Minister entering intensive care has shaken the government just as Britain prepares for what are likely to be the worst weeks of the pandemic.
The government is trying to ramp up coronavirus testing. It is also scrambling to ensure there are enough ventilators, which are machines that keep people breathing when an illness threatens their lungs.
Throughout yesterday, the government maintained that Johnson was in “high spirits” and was leading the fight against coronavirus from hospital.
However, cracks started to show when Raab admitted he had not spoken to Johnson since Saturday.
Coronavirus has now killed more than 5,300 people in the UK from more than 51,000 confirmed cases. Globally it has infected more than 1.3m people. Over 74,000 have died.