Boris Johnson is still recovering from coronavirus and not doing government work after being discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital at the weekend, No 10 has said.
Downing Street added the prime minister remains at his countryside residence of Chequers and is not receiving his ministerial red box with official government papers, but had spoken to Dominic Raab on Thursday.
Mr Johnson left the central London hospital – where he had spent time in intensive care – on Sunday afternoon, after testing positive for covid-19 in late March.
Mr Raab, the first secretary of state and foreign secretary, has been deputising for the prime minister in his absence, and yesterday announced a three-week extension to the UK-wide lockdown.
He warned the country could experience a second deadly spike in infections if stringent government orders on social distancing are relaxed too early, but insisted there was “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Providing an update on Mr Johnson’s health, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Friday: “He continues his recovery at Chequers and he is not doing government work.”
Pressed on whether he had spoken to Mr Raab since leaving hospital on Sunday, they added: “The PM had a discussion with the first secretary of state yesterday. He is not doing [red] box work. He is focused on his recovery and not doing government work.”
In a recorded message after leaving St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday, the prime minister said the NHS “saved my life, no question” and singled out two nurses for praise who were at his bedside “when things could have gone either way”.
Mr Johnson said: “The reason my body started to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night they were watching and they were thinking and they were caring and making the interventions I needed.
He also praised the public for forming a “human shield” around the NHS by following government advice to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus.
On Thursday, the first lady of the United States Melania Trump also contacted Mr Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds to share well wishes for her and the prime minister.
Ms Symonds, who is with Mr Johnson at Chequers, and is expecting the couple’s first child in the summer, had also showed symptoms of the virus earlier this month, but was not tested.
According to the White House, “Mrs Trump reaffirmed that the United States stands together with the United Kingdom in the fight to defeat the coronavirus pandemic”.
She also “expressed optimism that the United States and the United Kingdom would get through this difficult period and emerge stronger than before”.
