Justin Tallis – WPA Pool /Getty Images(LONDON) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized on Sunday with COVID-19, remains in intensive care after being transferred there Monday when his condition deteriorated.
Johnson, 55, was transferred to intensive care in the event his condition required him to be placed on a ventilator. However, a British government spokesperson said Tuesday that hasn’t become necessary, through Johnson was given oxygen overnight.
Johnson assured everyone Monday that his situation wasn’t critical and tweeted, “I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe.” Even so, provisions have been made for a transfer of power should Johnson’s illness render him unable to carry out his duties as PM.
The prime minister revealed on March 27 that he’d tested positive for COVID-19. Carrie Symonds, Johnson’s 32-year-old fiancée who’s seven months pregnant with her and Johnson’s child, tweeted last week that she also tested positive for COVID-19 and had spent the week in bed.
President Donald Trump during his daily coronavirus briefing Monday said he was “saddened” by the news of Johnson’s ongoing illness and that “Americans are all praying for his recovery.”
The UK currently has 52,301 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,373 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Those numbers represent the eighth-highest number of per-country cases and the fourth-highest number of per-country deaths from COVID-19, as of Tuesday morning.
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