Boris Johnson is making ‘positive steps forward’ in his recovery from coronavirus says Dominic Raab

Boris Johnson is making positive steps forward’ in his recovery from coronavirus but remains in intensive care, stand-in prime minister Dominic Raab said today.

Providing the regular update on the Prime Minister’s health after he spend a third night in intensive care at St Thomas’s Hospital, he said the leader remained ‘in good spirits’.

But there was not mention of when Mr Johnson, who was admitted to hospital on Sunday, might be well enough to be removed from the high-dependency unit. 

Mr Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, began the daily news conference by saying: ‘Can I start with an update on the Prime Minister – he’s still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he’s in good spirits.’

It came as the UK recorded 881 more coronavirus deaths today, taking Britain’s total to 7,978 as its coronavirus crisis rumbles on.

Mr Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, began the daily news conference by saying: ‘He’s still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he’s in good spirits’

Boris Johnson on April 1

Boris Johnson on April 2

Images show the Prime Minister’s changing appearance as his coronavirus battle progressed

Downing Street relayed more positive signs about the Prime Minister’s health this morning, saying he had a ‘good night’ although he is still receiving oxygen. 

 ‘The PM had a good night and continues to improve in intensive care at St Thomas’s. He is in good spirits,’ his spokesman said.  

However, there is no sign Mr Johnson will be able to take part in decisions over the outbreak ravaging the country, after No10 confirmed yesterday that he is not working. 

In a round of interviews earlier, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the premier was doing ‘reasonably well’.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee later that is expected to signal the lockdown will continue for weeks longer despite mounting fears over the economic hit. 

He told BBC Breakfast this morning: ‘He’s stable, improving, sat up and engaged with medical staff.

‘I’ve known the Prime Minister for a long time and I wish him well in this difficult time and I think things are getting better for him.’

Asked about whether the PM will be able to make a decision himself on the lockdown next week, Mr Dowden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘He’s in a stable condition, he seems to be doing reasonably well, he was sat up and engaging with medical staff.

‘But we have a well-established mechanism for the first minister Dominic Raab to take the Prime Minister’s place in chairing such meetings, he will chair Cobra and he will chair the relevant decisions. This is just about going through a proper process, that’s why we’re waiting for next week.’ 

No10 said yesterday that Mr Johnson ‘continues to make steady progress’ and is able to contact those he needs to. 

That suggested Mr Johnson has been able to speak to his pregnant partner Carrie Symonds, although Downing Street has not confirmed. 

The birth of the 32-year-old’s first child is only weeks away and she is also recovering in isolation after experiencing virus symptoms.   

On another tumultous day in the struggle to control coronavirus:

  • Downing Street said that planning is under way across Whitehall for an exit strategy from lockdown, but ministers are facing criticism for secrecy over the plans;
  • Mr Johnson is ‘continuing to improve’ in intensive care, and he has been sitting up ‘engaging’ with medical staff treating him at St Thomas’ hospital;
  • A respected think-tank has warned that a million people could end up with long-term health conditions as a result of the economic hit from coronavirus lockdown;
  • The Bank of England has extended the government’s Ways and Means provision – effectively its overdraft;
  • New figures show the economy had effectively flatlined before the coronavirus crisis hit with 0.1 per cent growth in the three months to February; 
  • It has emerged that MPs have been offered an extra £10,000 in expenses to help them and staff work from home; 
  • EU officials have accused the UK government of being in ‘fantasy land’ by insisting the Brexit transition period cannot be extended beyond December; 
Boris Johnson¿s condition is improving ¿ and he may even have been able to speak to his pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds (right), though Downing Street have not confirmed this

Boris Johnson’s condition is improving – and he may even have been able to speak to his pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds (right), though Downing Street have not confirmed this

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, an ally of the PM, said he was 'getting better' in intensive care, where he has been treated since Monday

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, an ally of the PM, said he was ‘getting better’ in intensive care, where he has been treated since Monday

Boris Johnson is still in intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital in central London today, although the Prime Minister's condition is said to be 'improving'

Boris Johnson is still in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London today, although the Prime Minister’s condition is said to be ‘improving’

Mr Johnson was admitted to hospital as a ‘precaution’ on Sunday night after his symptoms of a high temperature and cough failed to subside following more than a week in quarantine. 

However, he was then transferred to intensive care on Monday night when his condition took another turn for the worse.

There were claims he had exacerbated his problems by trying to emulate his hero Churchill, who ploughed on through illness during the Second World War. 

Questions have also been raised over why he was allowed to stay in isolation for so long with persistent symptoms, and was only admitted to hospital after a video consultation with a GP. 

Mr Raab has been ‘deputised’ to make sure government keeps running while the PM is out of action, which could potentially be for weeks. But there are concerns about a power vacuum at the very moment when the country needs strong leadership. 

There are growing concerns over the economic impact of coronavirus as the World Trade Organisation warned of the ‘deepest recession in our lifetimes’.  

The British Chambers of Commerce warned that furloughing staff could cost taxpayers £50billion over the next three months.  

A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) today raised fresh questions about the trade-offs involved in the extreme curbs, which are intended to stop hundreds of thousands being killed by the disease.

With Boris Johnson still in intensive care, Dominic Raab is chairing a meeting of the Cobra crisis committee later that is set to signal the lockdown will continue into May. 

The IFS said there is debate over ‘whether the adverse health effects of a recession may be greater than the increased morbidity and mortality within the pandemic itself’. 

It stressed that the scale of the economic hit from the lockdown is unclear, but is likely to be ‘much larger’ than the 2008 credit crunch which meant 900,000 more people of working age developed serious health issues. 

Another 500,000 are estimated to have suffered poor mental health as a result of that crisis. 

If the economic hit is twice as large it would be expected to lead to 1.8million people enduring chronic illness, and a million mental health issues. 

Meanwhile, police chiefs are calling for laws to ban Britons from driving long distances and flouting the rule to exercise more than once a day ahead of a hot Easter weekend.

Officers in Windermere, Cumbria, are already sending people in camper vans home, while locals in St Ives, Cornwall, blocked some roads to protect vulnerable residents.

Police have also created online forms for people to report potential breaches of the lockdown which was imposed on March 23 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

At least five chief constables are said to be backing more stringent restrictions and clearer rules – including legislation to enforce the order to limit exercise to a one-hour period outdoors after some people flouted it to sunbathe in parks or beaches.

Northamptonshire Police said the ‘three-week grace period is over’ and suggested they may even start searching shopping trolleys, but how this would work is unclear.   

At a press conference last night, Professor Stephen Powis of NHS England said the lockdown was working. But he added: ‘We have to continue following instructions, we have to continue following social distancing – if we don’t, the virus will start to spread again.’

Polling by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori showed nine out of ten people support the lockdown. 

Sung-Il Cho, professor of epidemiology at Seoul National University, told The Daily Telegraph that cases ought to drop below 50 per fortnight before moves towards a ‘gradual recovery.’

Modelling by the newspaper found that for the UK that would mean waiting until the middle of next month.

The South Koreans have been able to bring the virus to heel by a stringent testing regime, contact tracing and quarantines. They have recorded just 200 deaths without imposing a lockdown and record 53 new cases each day.

Professor Chis Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, echoed Mr Sunak, saying that there would be no talk of an exit strategy until ‘we are confident we are beyond the peak.’

However, experts have warned that returning to life after lockdown won’t be a return to normality. Many anticipate that there will be a vicious resurgence of the disease in the autumn.

Prof David Alexander, of University College London’s institute for risk and disaster reduction, told The Telegraph: ‘Britain and other countries should hold themselves ready to return to lockdown, possibly with more stringent conditions than before. In the autumn, a second wave of Covid-19 could occur and could be devastating.’

Another option is to allow the young and healthy to return to work, while others continue with the strict ‘stay at home’ guidance.

But the majorities of scientists believe the government will opt for the strategy of beating the numbers of cases down to a tiny level before proceeding with any liberation of the populace.  

Ministers will commit the UK to weeks more coronavirus lockdown as Dominic Raab (pictured in Whitehall today) chairs a Cobra crisis meeting for the first time with Boris Johnson still in intensive care

VACCINE ‘COULD BE READY BY AUTUMN’, SAY OXFORD SCIENTISTS  

Oxford University researchers are confident they can roll out a vaccine for coronavirus within the next eight months.

This ‘best case scenario’ is much sooner than was previously touted. Britain’s chief scientific adviser said it would be at least 2021 until a vaccine was ready.

But the Oxford team, one of hundreds worldwide racing to develop a COVID-19 cure, warned it will be ‘challenging’ if the outbreak peaks before a jab is ready for trials.

With no tests available to identify who has already been infected it could be difficult to find unexposed people to take part in the trial, the researchers say.

More than 500 volunteers aged between 18 and 55 have signed up to the trial and will begin tests towards the end of the month.

Modelling by researchers at the University of Washington predicts Britain will hit its peak on April 17. So far the virus has killed 7,100 and infected 55,000 in the UK. 

The researchers told The Telegraph: ‘The best-case scenario is that by the autumn of 2020 we have the results about the effectiveness of the vaccine from a phase III trial and the ability to manufacture large amounts of the vaccine.’

They admitted that this time frame was ‘highly ambitious’ many things could get in the way of that target. 

‘At the moment it is not possible to identify who has already been infected,’ they added, ‘and if the virus is spreading quickly throughout the population it might be difficult to find unexposed people to take part in the trial.

‘Conducting trials after the peak subsides presents another problem, because so many people will have developed a natural immunity by then, and the amount of transmission will have dropped so that those who are still not immune will take longer to be exposed to the virus.’

And even if that were achieved, life would not suddenly resume as it was before the draconian measures were placed upon us. 

Dr Joe Grove, of UCL’s department of infection and immunity, told The Telegraph: ‘Once the current epidemic peak has passed, simply returning to life as usual would likely trigger another epidemic.

‘Ultimately, the only way we can shake off the shackles of Covid-19 is widespread immunity and the only safe way to achieve that is through vaccination. In the meantime, testing gives us a route to some semblance of normality.’

Downing Street has meanwhile expressed grave fears that people will defy its regulations to go out and enjoy the Easter Monday bank holiday sunshine. 

The Government is to formally set down its extension at the start of next week after processing three weeks’ worth of figures. 

Opinion polls show the public still backs the lockdown after the coronavirus claimed a record 938 deaths on Wednesday.

The WHO also agreed with the Government’s position yesterday, Dr Hans Kluge warned: ‘Now is not the time to relax measures.’

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, chaired by Sir Patrick Vallance, will tomorrow meet to discuss how the current regulations on public freedoms have affected the infection and death rates.

Italy, which has recorded the highest number of deaths in the world, extended their lockdown (which started on March 9) until mid-May. Officials have often reminded us that we are two weeks behind the Italians.

Britain’s highest daily death toll on Wednesday (938) can be compared to Italy’s highest of 919 on March 28 (12 days ago), and Spain’s 950 fatalities on April 3.

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