UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to an unnamed hospital in London after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 for ten days.
Spokespeople for Johnson have said this is simply a precautionary measure and he will remain in charge of the UK government and carry on with the pandemic response while in hospital. Downing Street officials have stressed that the admission was done following the advice of Johnson’s doctor to conduct precautionary tests as Johnson has shown symptoms for ten days since he tested positive.
Leadership during these trying times is crucial as the fates of citizens and refugees alike hang in the balance.
Foreign secretary and first secretary of state Dominic Raab is set to take over if Johnson’s condition deteriorates. Raab is expected to attend a C-19 meeting today, which is the government’s pandemic response committee.
According to Johns Hopkins University, so far there have been nearly 1.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide with a total of 69,498 deaths. The worst affected countries are the United States with 337,637 cases, Spain with 131,646 cases, Italy with 128,948 cases and Germany with 100, 123 cases. The United Kingdom currently has 48,440 confirmed cases.
Cases in most developing nations have yet to hit high recorded numbers.
By Tanzia Haq
