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Boris Johnson is to spend a second night in intensive care but remains in “good spirits”, a spokesperson for Downing Street said on Tuesday evening.
The prime minister was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on Monday after his coronavirus symptoms worsened but was breathing on his own and has not required a ventilator.
No further updates are expected before tomorrow.
A spokesperson said: “The prime minister’s condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring. He is in good spirits.”
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Johnson, said the news had come as a “shock” to ministers but he was “confident” he would pull through.
Speaking at Tuesday’s press conference at Downing Street, Raab said: “He’s not just our boss – he’s also a colleague and he’s also our friend.”
He added: “And I’m confident he will pull through because if there is one thing that I know about this prime minister is he is a fighter and he will be back leading us through this crisis in short order.”
The prime minister was diagnosed with the disease 11 days ago.
Raab said the entire cabinet was united around the approach set out by Johnson for tackling coronavirus.
The government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said there were signs that the rates of new of infections and new hospital admissions for Covid-19 were “flattening off”.
But in an indication that the current lockdown measures would have to continue beyond the three-week review due next week, he said it would be another “week or so” before they could be sure.
