PM Johnson says medics saved his life as UK deaths pass 10,000 mark

[webfact]

PM Johnson says medics saved his life as UK deaths pass 10,000 mark

By Estelle Shirbon and Kate Holton

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech to British citizens after being discharged from hospital, in London, Britain, April 12, 2020 in this screen grab taken from social media video. Twitter/@BorisJohnson via REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left hospital on Sunday and thanked staff for saving his life from COVID-19, but his government was forced to defend its response to the coronavirus outbreak as the national death toll passed 10,000.

 

The sombre milestone came after Britain reported two days in a row of hospital deaths increasing by more than 900. Friday's death toll of 980 surpassed the highest daily total recorded in Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe so far.

 

Reflecting the gravity of the emergency, Queen Elizabeth issued the first Easter message in her 68-year reign. "Coronavirus will not overcome us," the 93-year-old monarch said in her second address to the nation in a week.

 

Johnson, 55, was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in London on April 5. He was moved into intensive care the following day and remained there until April 9.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from a London hospital as he continues his recovery from COVID-19, his office said on Sunday. Lauren Anthony reports.

 

"I have today left hospital after a week in which the NHS has saved my life, no question," Johnson said in a five-minute video message posted on Twitter from 10 Downing Street, referring to the state-run National Health Service.

 

He named and thanked nurses who had cared for him, with a special mention for two of them, Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal, who he said had stood by his bedside for 48 hours "when things could have gone either way".

 

"The reason in the end my body did start 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 said.

 

Johnson wore a suit and tie and spoke in his usual upbeat manner. In characteristic fashion, he made a joke, thanking the doctors who had cared for him, "several of them for some reason called Nick".

 

He will continue his recovery at Chequers, the official prime ministerial country residence northwest of London, his office said. Health minister Matt Hancock said there was no advice on when he would return to work and it would be a clinical decision.

 

"VERY DARK TIMES"

A Reuters photographer saw Johnson and his pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds, 32, who has also suffered from COVID-19 symptoms, being driven out of Downing Street with their dog.

 

"There were times last week that were very dark indeed. My heart goes out to all those in similar situations, worried sick about their loved ones," Symonds said on Twitter. "Today I'm feeling incredibly lucky."

 

While Johnson has been out of action, his ministers have come under pressure to explain why the number of people dying of COVID-19 is rising so fast.

 

The death toll in hospitals across the United Kingdom stood at 10,612 as of 1600 GMT on Saturday, an increase of 737 over a 24-hour period, official figures showed on Sunday.

 

That was lower than the daily increases of 980 and 917 reported on Friday and Saturday. On previous weekends, the numbers have dipped, which can reflect delays in registering deaths.

 

"The UK is likely to be certainly one of the worst-affected if not the worst-affected country in Europe," Jeremy Farrar, director of health foundation the Wellcome Trust and a member of a scientific panel advising the government, told the BBC.

 

Asked to comment on Farrar's prediction during the daily government news conference, Hancock did not dispute it.

 

"The future of this virus is unknowable as yet because it depends on the behaviour of millions of people," he said.

 

MINISTERS UNDER PRESSURE

In his video message, Johnson thanked the public for following social distancing restrictions in place since March 23 and assured them their efforts were paying off.

 

"I want you to know that this Easter Sunday I do believe that your efforts are worth it, and are daily proving their worth," he said.

 

However, ministers faced a barrage of questions on whether the government had been too slow to impose a national lockdown.

 

"Different countries have different cycles in terms of where they are in terms of the spread of this pandemic," Business Minister Alok Sharma told Sky News earlier in answer to that question.

 

At Sunday's briefing, Hancock came under pressure to explain persistent problems such as a lack of personal protective equipment for hospital and care home staff, and low levels of coronavirus testing compared with some European countries.

 

He said the NHS had not been overwhelmed, unlike the health services of some other countries, and that it currently had close to 3,000 spare critical care beds.

 

The medical director of Public Health England, Yvonne Doyle, said there were signs that the number of hospital admissions in London could be stabilising, but the position was still getting worse in parts of northern England.

 

(Additional reporting by Henry Nicholls and Hannah Mackay, Editing by Alison Williams and Giles Elgood)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-13

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[nobodysfriend]

Welcome back Boris .

Being , for some days , close to the ' final curtain ' , makes one realize that life is short , isn't it ?

Use the time you've got left now to do what is right and good .

Edited April 13, 2020 by nobodysfriend

[simple1]

Great to see he publicly acknowledged and thanked his carers.

[Kiwiken]

One hopes after such a Close Call that he other leaders realise the absolute need of a Well Funded Public Health system. Good to see he has recovered Sadly many of Our Elderly and others will not.

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

Glad he recovered and appreciated support given to him. 

Not a Pommy myself but he seems a decent guy.

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, simple1 said:

Great to see he publicly acknowledged and thanked his carers.

His Carers would rather have sufficient PPE and testing than a hand clap.

Life for Boris can go on while care providers continue to risk their own lives from inadequate government assistance. At least UK is being aided by Germany to some extent and the whole of the EU otherwise.

[Surelynot]

3 hours ago, simple1 said:

Great to see he publicly acknowledged and thanked his carers.

I would suspect that they would appreciate not having to pay thousands for their visas, not having to face racial abuse and not having to live under the constant threat of being forcibly repatriated at sometime in the future. STOP VOTING TORY

[rhodie]

1 minute ago, Surelynot said:

STOP VOTING TORY

And keep voting for Boris. ???? Good to see him recover and I hope as many as possible will do the same.

[natway09]

Well done to everyone concerned.

I would very much like to know exactly the medication they gave him but I am

sure that will never be released

[sawadee1947]

4 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Welcome back Boris .

Being , for some days , close to the ' final curtain ' , makes one realize that life is short , isn't it ?

Use the time you've got left now to do what is right and good .

What answer do you expect asking a clown??? 

[sawadee1947]

58 minutes ago, Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai said:

Glad he recovered and appreciated support given to him. 

Not a Pommy myself but he seems a decent guy.

I'm really feel sorry that you seem to be blindfolded and deaf. ????

[vogie]

Nice to see the hate mob getting the boot in early on a man that has just been fighting for his life.

[simple1]

20 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

I would suspect that they would appreciate not having to pay thousands for their visas, not having to face racial abuse and not having to live under the constant threat of being forcibly repatriated at sometime in the future. STOP VOTING TORY

Here in Oz nurses are being recruited to work IN NHS and from other countries - doubt they would have to pay for their visa. Sadly racial abuse is a worldwide problem. Nurses forcibly repatriated? Any evidence...

[TPI]

5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Welcome back Boris .

Being , for some days , close to the ' final curtain ' , makes one realize that life is short , isn't it ?

Use the time you've got left now to do what is right and good .

Give the foreign living married men back their wives pension, that's the best Karma you can make!

[Surelynot]

15 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Here in Oz nurses are being recruited to work IN NHS and from other countries - doubt they would have to pay for their visa. Sadly racial abuse is a worldwide problem. Nurses forcibly repatriated? Any evidence...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6107350/windrush-nhs-nurse-seperated-kids-stuck-jamaica/

[simple1]

5 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6107350/windrush-nhs-nurse-seperated-kids-stuck-jamaica/

Very different to the scenario you inferred

[RuamRudy]

Johnson seems to be a bit cavalier about the chance of him passing on the infection - studies have shown that the virus can persist in the body after the patient recovers. 

 

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-spread-after-recovery.html

 

Should he really be taking the risk of possibly exposing his pregnant partner and attendant flunkies to the virus? 

[smiggley]

So what did they do to cure him so fast and why can't they do the same for everyone else???

Or is the cost to expensive, two nurses looking after him around the clock and what medications?

[puipuitom]

2 hours ago, Surelynot said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6107350/windrush-nhs-nurse-seperated-kids-stuck-jamaica/

The REAL "Thanks" of the British

[Thongkorn]

7 hours ago, simple1 said:

Great to see he publicly acknowledged and thanked his carers.

Pity the British Government had not invested in British educated and tought Nurses,  Then they would not have to poach Nurses from other countries on the cheap.

[gk10002000]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

stood by his bedside for 48 hours "when things could have gone either way".

So what exactly did they do besides stood by his bedside?   Sounds a little sensationalist in the article

[faraday]

9 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

So what exactly did they do besides stood by his bedside?   Sounds a little sensationalist in the article

Being an ICU nurse, is a very specialised job; there's considerably more to it, than standing by a bed.

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, faraday said:

Being an ICU nurse, is a very specialised job; there's considerably more to it, than standing by a bed.

I am well aware of what they could be doing.  I only said the article said they stood by his bedside