• Pandemic Coronavirus: Breaking News
  • Reactions. World political leaders send messages of encouragement to Boris Johnson, in the ICU with coronavirus

"Premier" Boris Johnson is in a "stable" condition and has received oxygen assistance on his first night in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Thomas Hospital, where he was admitted Sunday with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

" The prime minister has not needed to use a respirator, " Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said, however, in remarks to the BBC's Today radio program. "In any case, one of the reasons he's in the ICU is for doctors to make the decisions that are necessary."

Gove stressed that Johnson has not contracted pneumonia and assured that Downing Street will keep the country promptly informed on how its condition evolves. In a brief statement, an official spokesman said that the prime minister is "aware" and that his condition has not changed throughout the second night in the hospital.

The British media have questioned the government's secrecy about the severity of the "premier's" medical situation, who entered on Sunday with a high fever, persistent cough and breathing problems.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has meanwhile temporarily assumed the helm of the government. "There is great team spirit around the prime minister and we will focus on executing his plans," said Raab, who on Monday chaired the first emergency cabinet. Cobra dedicated to the coronavirus.

Raab, 46, was Brexit secretary with Theresa May and is considered one of the Conservative Party's rising values, despite his robotic style and lack of charisma . A staunch supporter of Brexit, the architect of the pamphlet "Britannia Unchained", he belongs to the hard wing of the party and is famous for being uncompromising and a fighter (he is a karate black belt).

The son of Czech Jewish immigrants, he has not hesitated, however, to defend the hard line against immigration, side by side with Interior Secretary Priti Patel. In the background in the first sets of the coronavirus crisis, last week he already had to supplant the prime minister at press conferences.

As the first secretary of state, he is qualified to supplant the prime minister in case of illness or indisposition. He has recently undergone a coronavirus test twice and both times been "negative".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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