Boris Johnson held a video conference call this morning and continues to lead the Government’s efforts to combat Covid-19 as he self-isolates after testing positive for the virus, said Business Secretary Alok Sharma
- Prime Minister held a video conference call this morning, Alok Sharma said
- A Number 10 spokesperson said Boris Johnson’s conditions remains ‘the same’
- He is leading the country from self-isolation at his spacious study in Number 11
- It is thought PM’s fiancée Carrie Symonds is no longer with him at the premises
- Comes as Britain’s COVID-19 death toll rocketed by 260 to 1,019 today
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was continuing to work from the Number 11 study on Saturday and held a video conference call this morning, as he remains in self-isolation after contracting coronavirus.
In a 4pm press conference, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said Mr Johnson held a video conference call this morning and continues to lead the Government’s efforts to combat COVID-19 despite testing positive himself.
A Number 10 spokesperson told MailOnline that Boris Johnson’s conditions remains ‘the same’ today, with ‘mild symptoms’.
It follows his bombshell announcement yesterday that he tested positive for coronavirus at midnight on Friday after complaining of feeling ‘rough’ on Thursday afternoon.
In a 4pm press conference, Business Secretary Alok Sharma (pictured) said Mr Johnson held a video conference call this morning and continues to lead the Government’s efforts to combat COVID-19 despite testing positive himself
Boris Johnson pictured conducting his weekly audience with the Queen via telephone on March 25. The Prime Minister was continuing to work from the Number 11 study on Saturday as he remains in self-isolation after contracting coronavirus
Britain’s Business Secretary Alok Sharma holds a coronavirus news conference with NHS England Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis (left) at 10 Downing Street on Saturday afternoon
Business Secretrary Alok Sharma said Johnson continues to show only ‘mild symptoms’ of coronavirus.
‘He continues to lead the government’s effort in combating Covid-19,’ Sharma told reporters, ‘This morning he held a video conference call and he will continue to lead right from the front on this.
‘What this has reminded us is that no one is immune and that is precisely why we ask people to follow the Government advice in terms of staying at home where they are able to do that,’ Sharma said.
He remains holed up in the spacious flat above Number 11, which has five bedrooms, playrooms and drawing rooms that lead off the double-height atrium.
It is thought that the Prime Minsiter’s pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds is no longer on the premises with him.
It is thought Carrie Symonds is no longer on the premises with him and could instead be living at Chequers, the PM’s official residence
She could instead be living at Chequers, the PM’s official residence, or Chevening, in Kent, another government home the couple have used in recent times, as concern for her health mounts.
Carrie herself also suggested she had moved out after posting on her Instagram account a photograph of her with the couple’s dog Dilyn, a Jack Russell cross, with the caption: ‘Self-isolating isn’t so bad with this one’.
The Prime Minister has been accused of failing to follow his own social distancing rules after Health Secretary Matt Hancock tested positive.
Proving the virus had reached the heart of power in the UK, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, who has been the face of the nation’s coronavirus response, also announced yesterday that he has begun self-isolating with symptoms.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday morning he had tested positive for coronavirus
Health secretary Matt Hancock also revealed yesterday he had tested positive for the virus
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack revealed today he had developed mild symptoms of coronavirus and was self-isolating.
Questions have arisen as to why the officials did not ‘practice what they preach’. The Prime Minister and Health Secretary were pictured at close quarters in the Commons in recent days – well within the advised 6ft limit.
The Chief Medical Officer – who is also a consultant doctor – had even advised the Prime Minister in person earlier that evening after Mr Johnson complained of coronavirus-like symptoms.
Britain’s COVID-19 death toll rocketed by 260 to 1,019 today as the UK suffered its worst day yet and saw a huge spike in victims.
It is the biggest daily increase the UK has seen. A total of 120,776 coronavirus tests have taken place, and 17,089 have come back positive.
The total number of deaths is 34 per cent higher than the equivalent figure on Friday and the largest day-on-day percentage increase since March 18, when the total rose from 71 to 104 (46 per cent).