Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said.
He was taken to a London hospital on Sunday evening with “persistent symptoms” – including a temperature. It is said to be a “precautionary step” taken on the advice of his doctor. The prime minister remains in charge of the government, but the foreign secretary is expected to chair a coronavirus meeting on Monday morning. Coronavirus is effecting the highest levels of government The prime minister, alongside the Queen, personifies the country’s public response to this pandemic. And Boris Johnson is continuing to personally experience the unpleasant reality of the virus. Downing Street officials are adamant Mr Johnson remains in charge of the government and is in contact with ministerial colleagues and civil servants. But the undeniable reality is there is nothing conventional, nothing normal about this – however routine the tests are that the prime minister is receiving. The coronavirus has repeatedly proven its capacity to turn the far-fetched into reality, over and over again. Advisers, officials and ministerial colleagues have all been forced to self-isolate.