British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been taken into the intensive care unit in hospital after his COVID-19 worsened, his office said on Monday.
Johnson is in a central London hospital, having been admitted there on the advice of doctors Sunday. Johnson was diagnosed with the coronavirus 10 days ago.
The 55-year-old was taken to St Thomas’ Hospital in central London at around 8 p.m. local time Sunday. He did not require an ambulance. Government officials say the prime minister was hospitalized on precautionary grounds for further tests as his symptoms had not improved.
Johnson had previously posted several video messages while under self-isolation in his residence at 10 Downing Street, reassuring the public that his symptoms were mild and urging Britons to adhere to the nationwide lockdown.
“I am absolutely confident that we will beat it and we will beat it together, and we will do it by staying at home,” Johnson said in a message posted last week. Observers say it’s clear he is quite unwell and has been suffering from a fever for several days.
"There are instances where people who are otherwise fit and healthy, and who are not above the 70-year-old sort of age qualification for isolating, where they struggle a bit. And certain people do that. We don't understand why,” noted Dr. Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Britain’s University of Reading.