‘Carrie’s love letter pulled Boris through’
A LOVE letter from his fiancée and a scan of their unborn baby gave UK prime minister Boris Johnson the energy to fight coronavirus in an intensive care unit, his friends revealed last night.
After rallying, the 55-year-old told them that he owed his life to the doctors and nurses at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, adding: ‘I can’t thank them enough.’
But just days ago, Mr Johnson’s future was not so certain after he was admitted to hospital and then moved to the ICU. Medics working on the stricken premier had been expecting him in hospital three days before he was admitted last Sunday. At one point, Mr Johnson’s plight was so grave that cabinet ministers and aides prayed for him.
While in hospital, Mr Johnson was boosted by a love letter from his pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds, which included a scan of their unborn child.
He plans to recuperate at his country home at Chequers but, with a further 979 coronavirus deaths announced in the UK yesterday, bringing the total to 9,937, his allies insist he will control when – and how – Britain emerges from its lockdown.
His steady recovery came as fears grew of a surge in deaths. Ministers have been warned that coronavirus is now affecting more than 15% of UK care homes, with many deaths in the sector not included in the current total.
Meanwhile, the government apologised for a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers after medical groups accused health secretary Matt Hancock of implying that it had been wasted.
Announcing that 19 NHS workers had died since the Covid19 outbreak began, Mr Hancock said he didn’t want to put ‘blame on people who have used more PPE than the guidelines suggest because I understand the difficulties in the circumstances. What I would say is it is very important to use the right PPE and not overuse it.’
The British cabinet is said to be split between those who want the country to leave lockdown early in May and those who want to delay lifting the restrictions until the summer.
And British police faced renewed criticism for being heavy-handed after 1,084 fines were issued for breaches of lockdown rules.
Meanwhile, America reached an unwanted milestone as it became the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 deaths in a single day.