British PM Johnson stable: officials
Prime minister in ‘good spirits’, no pneumonia
Boris Johnson is in a stable condition, has not been put on a ventilator and does not have pneumonia, but was still in intensive care on Tuesday night, Downing Street confirmed.
The British prime minister was described as “a fighter” and “a friend” by Dominic Raab, his de facto deputy, who pledged that Johnson would return to leading the government’s fight against COVID-19 “in short order.”
Johnson is being kept in intensive care as a precaution, and The Daily Telegraph can disclose that his treatment is being overseen by Dr. Richard Leach, Britain’s leading lung doctor.
Dr. Luigi Camporota, another St. Thomas’ Hospital team member, said last week that some patients on Johnson’s ward had faced a “biphasic” tipping point after about a week, when after an initial upturn their condition can go into life-threatening decline.
Johnson’s political opponents were united in sending him good wishes after it emerged that he had been moved to be near a ventilator on Monday evening, and the Royal Family also passed on messages of support.
A No. 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister’s condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring. He is in good spirits.”
Speaking at the daily Downing Street news briefing, Raab said Johnson’s deterioration came “as a shock to us all.” The First Secretary of State added: “He’s not just the prime minister, and for all of us in cabinet he’s not just our boss, he’s also a colleague and he’s also our friend. I’m confident he’ll pull through because ... he’s a fighter and he’ll be back at the helm leading us through this crisis in short order.”
Raab started his career as a lawyer and in 2010 he was elected to represent Esher and Walton, about 30 kilometres southwest of London. He rose rapidly through the ranks to join the cabinet as Brexit secretary in 2018. He took on the role after David Davis resigned, only to quit six months later in November 2018 when then-prime minister Theresa May signed up to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. He ran to succeed her in the Conservative party leadership election in 2019, and when he was eliminated from the race he endorsed Johnson. He was appointed to his current position in July.
He’s not personally close to Johnson and their relationship has been described as “professional.”
On Tuesday, Raab cast doubt about whether the coronavirus lockdown will be reviewed next week, in line with Johnson’s original timetable.
Raab said a review of social distancing measures would only come “once we’ve got reliable data” and only after ministers were confident the United Kingdom was “past the peak,” which experts said may be three weeks away.
Raab also faced repeated questions about his own authority.
“I have been given a clear steer by the prime minister and very clear instructions,” he said. “I have got total confidence in the arrangements that the prime minister has put in place.”
One senior minister said that if Johnson had to take a lengthy period off work, and if other ministers fell ill, Raab would potentially have to be given the power to appoint temporary replacements, which only the prime minister can do.
Meanwhile, another 786 deaths from coronavirus were recorded in the country on Tuesday — the biggest daily figure so far — taking the total number of deaths in hospitals to 6,159. But there was some cause for hope as the number of new confirmed cases fell to 3,634, the lowest daily increase since March 31, meaning “things might be moving in the right direction” according to Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser.
“It’s possible that we’re beginning to see the start of a change, where we might see numbers flattening off,” said Vallance.
However, in another sign that the lockdown is unlikely to be lifted on Monday, he added: “We won’t be sure about that for a week or so ... and we would expect the numbers of deaths to lag after the ICU cases by a couple of weeks.” He said it might be “two or three weeks” before deaths start to come down.
Johnson’s deterioration since Sunday has led to speculation that No. 10 has been trying to keep secret the seriousness of his condition. Stanley Johnson, his 79-year-old father, said Tuesday night that he was “not being told how Boris is getting on.”
One former senior civil servant said: “There is a slight sense that we are always being given the upside — which then makes people think, ‘is it quite as good as they say it is?’” However, this was firmly denied by the prime minister’s spokesman who said: “We have a commitment to be as transparent as we can be throughout this process.”