The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care after his condition worsened, Downing Street has said.
The PM was taken to St Thomas’ hospital in Central London yesterday as a precaution, 10 days after being diagnosed with coronavirus, but his condition has since worsened.
Having been in hospital for tests and observation, his doctors advised that he be admitted to intensive care on Monday evening.
Mr Johnson, 55, is understood to be conscious and was moved to intensive care at about 7pm as a precaution should he require ventilation to aid his recovery.
A No.10 spokesperson said: “Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.
“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.
“The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary.
“The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.”
At the press briefing earlier today, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was asked by numerous journalists how Mr Johnson was, and whether he would be temporarily stepping in to lead the country.
Mr Raab responded by reiterating that the Prime Minister was admitted to hospital “as a precaution only”.
But it seems his condition has deteriorated since then.
Mr Raab said at the briefing at 5pm today: “He (Mr Johnson) was admitted to hospital for tests as a precaution only.
“And that was because some of the symptoms that he had when he first tested positive had persisted.
“He’s had a comfortable night in St Thomas’ (Hospital), he’s in good spirits, and he’s being regularly updated.
“And he still remains in charge of the Government and we are getting on with all of the various strands of work to make sure at home and abroad we can defeat the virus and pull the country through coronavirus and the challenges that undoubtedly we’re facing at the moment.”
