Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Boris Johnson 'improving' as intensive care treatment continues

Boris Johnson 'improving' as intensive care treatment continues

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "improving" after two nights in intensive care with coronavirus, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.

Mr Johnson was now sitting up in bed and "engaging positively" with the clinical team at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the chancellor added.

Mr Sunak also said a Cobra meeting on Thursday would discuss "the approach" to take in reviewing lockdown measures.

It comes as a record 938 daily deaths were reported in UK hospitals.

The total number of UK deaths now stands at 7,097, according to the latest Department of Health figures.

The PM was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in London on Sunday - 10 days after testing positive for the virus - and was then moved to intensive care on Monday.

At the daily coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, Mr Sunak said Mr Johnson was "receiving excellent care from the NHS team at St Thomas'".

"The prime minister is not only my colleague and my boss but also my friend and my thoughts are with him and his family," he said.

Later, Downing Street said the prime minister "continues to make steady progress" but remained in intensive care.

Though the daily rise in deaths was larger than the previous highest toll of 786 - on Tuesday - the deputy chief scientific adviser, Prof Dame Angela McLean, said new cases were not "accelerating out of control".

But NHS England medical director Stephen Powis warned now was not the time to become "complacent".

He said: "We are beginning to see the benefits, I believe (of the government's lockdown measures), but the really critical thing, I believe, is that we have to continue following instructions, we have to continue following social distancing, because if we don't, the virus will start to spread again."


'Closing in on Italy's worst day'
By Philippa Roxby, BBC health reporter

The number of deaths reported today (938) is a new high for the coronavirus epidemic in the UK, but it is still lower than expected if deaths had been following their long-term trend of doubling every three to four days.

The daily figure is, however, closing in on Italy's worst day of deaths on 27 March.

There are cautious hopes that Italy - which has reached 17,127 total deaths - has turned a corner, and in Spain too - with a total of 14,555 deaths - figures show the death toll is on a downward trend.

So what about the UK? Numbers of new daily cases of coronavirus may give us a clue. In the past week, they have stayed relatively constant at around 4-5,000.

With more people being tested every day as part of the government's plans to ramp up testing to NHS staff, as well as hospital patients, steady numbers of cases suggest there could be the light at the end of the tunnel.

The number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and being taken to intensive care are also showing signs of levelling off.

So it is now hoped, that with nearly three weeks of social distancing behind us, the number of people dying will soon start to show the same pattern.

Mr Sunak said Thursday's Cobra meeting would discuss the approach the government would be taking towards reviewing lockdown measures.

According to the government's coronavirus legislation, the health secretary must review the need for restrictions - announced by Mr Johnson on 23 March - at least once every 21 days, with the first review to be carried out by 16 April.

Mr Sunak said the review would happen "around" the three-weeks point, which would be based on evidence that will "only be available next week".

"I think rather than speculate about the future, I think we should focus very seriously on the here and now and the present," he added.

The chancellor also unveiled a £750m funding package to keep struggling charities afloat during the pandemic.

The measures, which involve cash grants direct to charities providing key services during the crisis, follow concern that some charities are facing collapse because of enforced shop closures.

Mr Sunak added, however, it was "simply not possible" to "save every single job, protect every single business or indeed every single charity".

Karl Wilding, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said the move was an important first step but warned "it will not be enough to prevent good charities around the country from closing their doors".

He estimated charities were set to lose out on £4bn in fundraising between March and June, in addition to facing rising costs.


'Black hole'


And shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds, who was appointed to the role after Sir Keir Starmer became Labour's new leader, said the announcement was welcome but fell "far short" of filling the financial "black hole" many organisations were facing.

Asked by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg whether the crisis would lead to a recession, Mr Sunak said: "I have been very honest that this will have a significant impact on our economy."

He added that the government had put in place "an enormous amount of support to help as many people as possible to get through this".


In other developments:

Fifteen residents have died at a care home in Luton - five of whom had the virus while the 10 others were not tested. The local council leader said it was a "tragic situation"
Friends and family have been paying tribute to 29-year-old Rebecca Mack, a former children's cancer nurse at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, who died on Sunday after contracting the virus a few weeks ago
CrimeStoppers has passed on more than 500 tip-offs to police across the UK about people breaking lockdown rules - including people with the virus being spotted outdoors, threats to infect or cough at people, and parties being planned on social media
In London, 14 public transport staff have died from the virus, including nine bus workers. The mayor said some buses were trialling allowing passengers to get on the bus only through the back doors to avoid going near the driver
Supermarket Tesco said most food would still need to be bought in store as it was not able to meet home delivery demand, while Sainsbury's said it was removing restrictions on thousands of products as stock levels recover

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×