According to the BBC, Johnson was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to ICU. However, he has not been put on a ventilator
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File pic/AFP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in hospital due to persistent Coronavirus symptoms, has been shifted to the intensive care unit after his Coronavirus symptoms 'worsened,' Downing Street has said. Johnson, 55, asked UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him as he was moved on Monday to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St Thomas' Hospital in London, a move Downing Street said was a 'precaution' should he require ventilation to aid his recovery.
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"Over the course of this afternoon (Monday), the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the ICU at the hospital," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "The Prime Minister has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary," the spokesperson said.
Raab, speaking after taking temporary charge, said the 'team spirit' within the government would be focussed on taking Johnson's plans to defeat the pandemic forward. Downing Street said Johnson remains conscious and is receiving 'excellent care,' for which he thanks all National Health Service (NHS) staff for their hard work and dedication. Queen Elizabeth II has been kept informed about Johnson's health by No 10, according to Buckingham Palace. According to the BBC, Johnson was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to intensive care. However, he has not been put on a ventilator.
Japan PM Abe declares state of emergency
Japan's PM Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other parts of the country over a spike in Coronavirus cases. The declaration will come into effect on Wednesday. "As I decided that a situation feared to gravely affect people's lives and the economy has occurred... I am declaring a state of emergency," Abe said. Specifically, it covers the capital and other major prefectures including Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka, Xinhua news agency reported. The declaration will give prefectural governors more power to take preventative measures to curb the continued spread of the virus, the cases of which have been steadily increasing, in urban areas. According to Al Jazeera, Abe said there would be no European-style lockdowns. The state of emergency will only permit Tokyo's Governor Yuriko Koike and heads of other designated prefectures to do more to reinforce calls for social distancing.
London stocks jump 3.0% despite PM Johnson in ICU
The London stock market rallied 3.0 per cent in opening deals on Tuesday, despite news that British PM Boris Johnson was battling the virus in an intensive care unit (ICU). London's benchmark FTSE 100 of major UK companies jumped 3.0 per cent to 5,571.09 points, amid Europe-wide gains as some of the world's worst-hit countries reported falling COVID-19 death rates. Frankfurt's DAX won 3.7 per cent to 10,445.50 points and the Paris CAC 40 leapt 3.2 per cent to 4,485.32 compared with Monday's closing levels.
Spain daily virus death toll rise again after 4 days
Spain's daily Coronavirus death rate shot up to 743 on Tuesday after falling for four straight days, lifting the total toll to 13,798, the health ministry said.
The number of new infections in the world's second hardest-hit country after Italy also grew at a faster pace, rising 4.1 per cent to 140,510, it added. The number of new cases had risen by 3.3 per cent on Monday. Health ministry officials said deaths occurring on the weekend are often registered a few days later, which may explain the rise.
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