BORIS SHIFTED TO ICU
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care on Monday after his coronavirus symptoms worsened and he has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise, Downing Street said.
Johnson was admitted to hospital on Sunday night and had been undergoing tests after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms for more than 10 days, but the government had earlier said he was in good spirits and still in charge.
“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,” a spokesman for his office said.
“The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary.”
Earlier in the day, Johnson sent out a tweet thanking the National Health Service for taking care of him and others in this difficult time.
The 55-year-old leader had been quarantined in his Downing Street residence since being diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 26 — the first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.
The US and Britain braced for what could be one of their bleakest weeks in memory on Monday as the human and financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak mounted. But new deaths and infections appeared to be slowing in Italy, Spain and France, suggesting that lockdowns and social distancing are working.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was infected last month, was hospitalised in what his office described as a precaution because of persistent symptoms. The 55-year-old Johnson, who had a fever for days, is the first known head of government to fall ill with the disease.
“I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe,” he tweeted on Monday.
World markets rose after much of Europe saw glimmers of hope — deaths and new infections appeared to be slowing in much of the three hardest-hit countries, as well as in the Netherlands and Germany.
Leaders cautioned, however, that any gains could easily be reversed if people did not continue to adhere to strict social distancing measures and national lockdowns. Markets were up about 3 per cent in Paris and Frankfurt, and Tokyo jumped more than 4 per cent.
In Washington, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered a stark warning about the surge of coronavirus deaths the nation is facing.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,” he told “Fox News on Sunday.”
More than 9,600 people have died of the virus in the United States, and it
leads the world in confirmed infections at more than 337,000.
In New York City, the US epicentre of the pandemic, daily confirmed deaths dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the number of patients who needed breathing tubes. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned it was “too early to tell” whether the good news would hold.
President Donald Trump suggested the hard weeks ahead could foretell the turning of a corner.
“We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump claimed at an White House briefing.
Louisiana health officials reported 68 more coronavirus-related deaths, the state’s biggest jump since the outbreak began. In all, the state where New Orleans hosts millions of tourists yearly has about 480 reported deaths and over 13,000 infections.
A report from a federal watchdog agency found that three out of four US hospitals surveyed are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.
Italy still has, by far, the world’s highest coronavirus death toll — almost 16,000 — but the pressure on northern Italy’s intensive care units has eased so much that Lombardy is no longer airlifting patients to other regions.
Yet elderly Italians like Enrico Giacomoni were still dying alone even after being put on a breathing machine. The octogenarian’s family had to rely on a single daily update from a busy doctor.
“He wasn’t expecting this,” said his son, Roberto. “He was there hoping things would get better, and all I could do was tell him, ‘Papa, be strong. You’ll see, this will pass.’”
“But his eyes were sad, in the sense that he obviously knew,” he added.
In Spain, deaths and new infections dropped again on Monday. The health ministry reported 637 new deaths, the lowest toll in 13 days, for a total of over 13,000 dead. New recorded infections were also the lowest in two weeks. —
We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.” donald trump
US President