'Condition of the Prime Minister Has Worsened': Battling Covd-19, UK's Boris Johnson Moved to Intensive Care

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who confirmed he tested positive for the virus last month, was admitted to the intensive care unit on Monday afternoon. (Photo: Julian Simmonds/TASS/PA)

'Condition of the Prime Minister Has Worsened': Battling Covd-19, UK's Boris Johnson Moved to Intensive Care

The move was taken by the head of state's medical team as a precaution in the event that a ventilator is needed.

This is a developing news story... please check back for possible updates...

Just weeks after being roundly criticized for his flippant public attitude about the threat of the coronavirus, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday was transferred into the intensive care unit of a London hospital as he continues to battle the infectious disease.

According to the latest updates from the Guardian newspaper's live blog:

The decision was made by his medical team after his condition worsened over the course of Monday. The prime minister is understood to be conscious and to have been moved as a precaution in case he needs ventilation.

"Since Sunday evening," said a spokesperson from Johnson's office, "the prime minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas' Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus. 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."

Johnson confirmed he tested positive for the disease, also known as Covid-19, last month. As Common Dreams reported at the time, his diagnosis came just weeks after Johnson bragged about how he "shook hands with everybody" at a recent hospital visit--a kind of braggadocio that public health experts and others said was both "surprising and concerning."

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.