PM Johnson Could be Out for Two Months
Boris Johnson faces between one and two months off work even if he makes a full recovery, scientists warned ahead of the coronavirus-stricken premier’s third night in hospital.
Experts said a ‘period of inactivity’ in intensive care would result in the British Prime Minister suffering a significant loss of muscle mass and strength.
They forecast Mr Johnson would be physically drained from fighting the virus, for which he has received oxygen in St Thomas’ Hospital in central London.
Survivors who have been discharged from critical care also braced Mr Johnson for weeks of bed-rest to recuperate from the energy-sapping disease, drawing on their own ‘horrendous’ experiences of the road to recovery.
Such an extensive period out of action would see him watch from the wings as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab steers the country through its critical phase of the UK’s epidemic as cases peak.
Mr Raab, who is deputising for Mr Johnson in his senior role as first secretary of state, yesterday confirmed a further 786 people have lost their lives, taking the death toll to 6159, while cases rose by 3634 to 55,242. Downing Street reassured the 55-year-old PM’s condition was stable and he ‘remains in good spirits’, while not currently in need of ventilation. And Mr Raab said he was confident his ‘boss and friend’ would pull through, branding him a ‘fighter’ who was in ‘safe hands’.
The Queen on Wednesday led an outpouring of goodwill towards Mr Johnson, wishing him a ‘speedy recovery’ and sending a personal message to his pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds and his wider family.
Daily Mail