简体中文
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been allowed to leave the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he has spent the last three nights but will remain at St Thomas' hospital in London after contracting COVID-19.
In a statement released by 10 Downing Street the UK government confirmed "The Prime Minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery."
UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been chairing daily government meetings while the prime minister has been in hospital and in a news conference on Thursday afternoon said "He's (Johnson) still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he's in good spirits,"
Raab continues to deputize for the prime minister as the UK remains in lockdown with schools, bars and restaurants closed in the strictest peacetime measures implemented in the country's history.
During a televised interview Raab went on to say "I think it's important, particularly while he's (Johnson) in intensive care, to let him focus on the recovery. We in the government have got this covered."
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that Johnson had been given oxygen but was not on a ventilator during his time in intensive care, where only the most severely ill patients are treated.
Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 on 27 March and spent 11 days self-isolating at his private residence above 11 Downing Street before he was taken to St Thomas' hospital with a high temperature and was admitted to the intensive crae unit.
The UK released this graph highlighting the highest number of patients needing critical care are in London.
Raab was joined at the news conference by the England's chief medical officer, Chris Witty, and Patrick Vallance, chief scientific advisor, who confirmed that 7,978 people have now died from the virus.
The UK government has been criticized for not testing enough people sooner, as they continue to work with scientists and businesses to source more testing kits. The number of patients that are now in critical care, according to the latest statistics, has risen by 43 percent in the last seven days with a 5 percent rise in the last 24 hours.
(CGTN)
