NI politicians send their messages of goodwill to PM after he is hit by virus
NORTHERN Ireland’s politicians sent messages of goodwill to Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday after he revealed he had been diagnosed with Covid-19.
It was later learned that Heath Minister Matt Hancock had also tested positive for the virus.
In addition, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has also experienced coronavirus symptoms. All three are now self-isolating.
Mr Johnson’s pregnant partner Carrie Symonds is not with the PM and is reportedly isolating alone in Camberwell, south London, with the couple’s dog Dilyn.
A spokesman for Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he has not had any symptoms and therefore has not been tested for coronavirus and is not self-isolating.
First Minister Arlene Foster tweeted: “Best wishes to the Prime Minister and Carrie. No one is immune. Let’s all follow the guidelines.”
Later, speaking at a Stormont press conference and flanked by deputy First Minister Michelle O’neill, Mrs Foster said: “As with so many others, they appear to have mild symptoms at present, and hopefully they will make a very speedy recovery.
“It shows again that no one is immune to this virus, and underlines the fact that we must all heed the advice and try to avoid spreading the disease.”
Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken said: “We wish a swift recovery to all who are suffering from this horrible disease.”
Mr Aiken also hit out at the many ugly messages on social media from people who appeared to be celebrating the Prime Minister’s illness.
“The very fact that the illness of anyone, in particular political leaders, has attracted so much vile comment on social media is utterly despicable,” the UUP MLA said, calling for social media companies to stop giving anonymity to trolls.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also wished the senior UK politicians well, but added he thought it unfair that they had been tested for the virus when NHS workers had not been.
“I wish people like Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and others reported in the media a full recovery,” Mr Eastwood said. “But it is deeply unfair that senior political figures and members of the royal family are able to access testing on the spot while the doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals putting their own health at risk to save lives are forced to wait.”
Alliance leader Naomi Long added: “I want to wish the Prime Minister well for his recovery. This is a timely reminder that no one is immune to the effects of Covid-19 and so following the health advice is absolutely critical.”
It comes as the UK saw its biggest day-on-day rise in deaths since the Covid-19 outbreak began.
A total of 759 people have now died in UK hospitals after being diagnosed with coronavirus, while 113,777 have tested positive and hundreds of thousands more people are thought to be infected.
The toll comes as the three men leading the fight against the outbreak are self-isolating, though all continue to work.
At the evening press briefing on Friday, Cabinet minister Michael Gove declined to be drawn on whether MPS had been too slow when it came to social distancing, saying the fact that both Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock had Covid-19 showed the “virus does not discriminate”, adding:
“We are all at risk.”
He said the rate of infection across the UK was doubling every two to three days.
Meanwhile, NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said NHS staff would start being tested for coronavirus from next week, including critical care nurses, intensive care staff, ambulance workers and GPS.
He also said that across England there are now 33,000 hospital beds available to treat coronavirus patients. Currently there are 6,200 confirmed Covid-19 patients being treated in English hospitals and he said that number is “only bound to rise in the coming days”.