Coronavirus: Boris Johnson is doing better, the UK is still destabilized

Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaving his home in London's Downing Street on March 4, 2020. Toby Melville / Reuters

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As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc in the UK, the British are concerned about the news about Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister's state of health, sick and in intensive care since April 6, has improved in recent hours. The deterioration of his situation caused an electric shock in the population.

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" His condition is improving, " said UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak on the evening of Wednesday April 8. Boris Johnson , tested positive for Covid-19 and isolated from March 27, had to be hospitalized at St Thomas' Hospital in London on Sunday April 5 before being placed in intensive care the next day. If he did not leave the service, the leader of the Conservative Party was able to sit on his bed and speak with the caregivers, reports our special envoy, Anissa El Jabri .

► Read also: Concern about the state of health of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

The concern spreads among the British

In the United Kingdom, the electroshock linked to his hospitalization remains palpable. The follow-up of his state of health always makes the headlines. The government keeps a daily update on this. In the country, the idea has spread among some: if the Prime Minister is infected and seriously ill, then everyone can be. Instability is gaining at the worst moment, with this growing health crisis.

London, like in all other European cities, exudes a strange calm. Closed shops and restaurants, supermarkets under surveillance of security guards ... The famous red double-decker buses still run. Cars too, but walkers are much rarer. Health Prime Minister is in everyone's mind.

On the streets of London, messages of support and thanks to health workers flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hannah McKay / Reuters

Containment divides

From policies to citizens, the United Kingdom stands behind its leader. Confinement, initially discarded and finally decreed, is not unanimous among the population. According to a poll released Wednesday, a third of Britons believe the police are going too far to enforce it. The very foundations of this decision are also disputed.

The counter arguments were never really considered. I think that the negative consequences of this solution are much more damaging than if we let the virus take its natural course. Domestic violence, children who no longer go to school ... It's just a nightmare. Companies will not be able to restart afterwards. It is a completely disproportionate reaction ”, estimates a Briton met in the north of the capital.

More than likely extension

The UK cannot do more than 15,000 tests per day. The government says it will target 100,000 daily newspapers by the end of the month. In the meantime, the question that arises here is that of extending confinement. The three weeks decided by Boris Johnson come to an end at the start of next week.

" Prepare for it to last, " headlines the Daily Mail this April 9, as the kingdom crosses the barrier of 7,000 coronavirus deaths. Except that the whole country and even the government are asking themselves another question today: who is going to have to decide on this extension, and especially to assume it politically?

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  • United Kingdom
  • Boris Johnson
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine

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