UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tests Positive for Coronavirus
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
In a tweeted video message, Johnson said that he had “developed mild symptoms” of COVID-19 and will isolate himself at 10 Downing Street. He added that he “will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.”
Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus.
I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.
Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/9Te6aFP0Ri
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) March 27, 2020
Johnson is the latest prominent figure to be diagnosed with the virus in the U.K., which on Thursday reported more than 11,600 confirmed cases and saw its death toll jump from 475 to 578, according to the BBC.
On Wednesday, Prince Charles, the first in line to the British throne, revealed that he too tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual,” a Clarence House official said.
In a news conference on Thursday, England’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr. Jenny Harries, said that the full effects of the outbreak in the U.K. were still two or three weeks away as the nation’s hospitals anticipated demand for intensive care.
The U.K. is “only just starting to see a bite in the interventions — the social distancing — that have been put into place,” she said, according to the BBC.
Read original story UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tests Positive for Coronavirus At TheWrap
