British PM Johnson up and walking in COVID-19 recovery
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back on his feet in his recovery from COVID-19 on Friday as Britain recorded its deadliest day yet in the coronavirus pandemic, with 980 more deaths taking the country’s overall toll to nearly 9,000.
The prime minister, 55, who needed oxygen support, was now able to take short walks between periods of rest, as part of the his recovery, which his office said was at an early stage.
“I was told he was waving his thanks to all of the nurses and doctors he saw as he was moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward,” his spokesman said. “The hospital said that he was in extremely good spirits last night.”
While Johnson’s condition was improving, it was unclear how long he would be incapacitated.
“He must rest up,” his father, Stanley Johnson, told BBC radio. “You cannot walk away from this and go straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”
Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalised with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s coronavirus outbreak worsened drastically.
The rise in deaths, which even exceeded the deadliest day reported so far in Italy, the country worst hit by the virus, comes as the government told Britons to obey a lockdown and resist going out in the spring sunshine over Easter.
