I needed "litres and litres of oxygen", Boris Johnson reveals
3-05-2020, 10:10

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

 

Boris Johnson has revealed "contingency plans" were made while he was seriously ill in hospital with coronavirus.

In an interview with the Sun on Sunday, the PM says he was given "litres and litres of oxygen" to keep him alive.

He says his week in London's St Thomas' Hospital left him driven by a desire to both stop others suffering and to get the UK "back on its feet".

Earlier, his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, revealed they had named their baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson.

The names are a tribute to their grandfathers and two doctors who treated Mr Johnson while he was in hospital with coronavirus, Ms Symonds wrote in an Instagram post.

The boy was born on Wednesday, just weeks after Mr Johnson's discharge from intensive care.

In his newspaper interview, the prime minister describes being wired up to monitors and finding the "indicators kept going in the wrong direction".

"It was a tough old moment, I won't deny it," he's quoted as saying, adding that he kept asking himself: "How am I going to get out of this?"

Banner

Mr Johnson had been diagnosed with coronavirus on March 26 and was admitted to hospital 10 days later. The following day, he was moved to intensive care.

"It was hard to believe that in just a few days my health had deteriorated to this extent," the prime minister tells the Sun on Sunday.

"The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong."

His recovery, he says, was down to "wonderful, wonderful nursing".

Mr Johnson says he felt "lucky", given so many others were still suffering, adding: "And so if you ask me, 'Am I driven by a desire to stop other people suffering?' Yes, I absolutely am.

"But I am also driven by an overwhelming desire to get our country as a whole back on its feet, healthy again, going forward in a way that we can and I'm very confident we'll get there."

 

Fewer patients hospitalised

 

The total number of reported coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 28,131 - an increase of 621 on Friday's figure.

However, England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said the number of people being treated in hospitals for the virus had fallen by 13% over the past week.

On Saturday, the government pledged £76m to support vulnerable children, victims of domestic violence and modern slavery, who were "trapped" at home during the lockdown.

The announcement followed reports of a "surge" in violence in the weeks since the lockdown was introduced.

 

Mr Johnson has been back in charge of the government since last Sunday. But he was in Downing Street a matter of days before Ms Symonds gave birth.

When posting their newborn's photograph on Instagram, she said his second middle name, Nicholas, was a tribute to "Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart - the two doctors that saved Boris' life".

This offered "an insight into just how serious things were for the prime minister" after contracting the virus, said BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake.

Dr Nick Price and Prof Nick Hart offered their "warm congratulations" to the PM and Ms Symonds.

They said in a statement: "We are honoured and humbled to have been recognised in this way, and we give our thanks to the incredible team of professionals who we work with at Guy's and St Thomas' and who ensure every patient receives the best care.

"We wish the new family every health and happiness."

In other developments:

BBC

 

Comments: 186
#186   Mikayla
      
3 June 2026 18:57
#185   Dustin
      
3 June 2026 18:40
#184   Adrianne
      
References:


Caesars casino https://xtuml.org
3 June 2026 18:32
#183   Sean
      
3 June 2026 15:33
#182   Christina
      
3 June 2026 12:47
#181   Terese
      
References:


Jacks or better strategy taban-miniatures.com
3 June 2026 01:04
#180   Jude
      
References:


Play online shooting games http://www.cruzenews.com
2 June 2026 22:05
#179   Twila
      
2 June 2026 21:27
#178   Jacinto
      
References:


Majestic pines casino https://xypid.win
2 June 2026 21:25
#177   Vito
      
References:


Winward casino https://undrtone.com/collarbolt40
2 June 2026 19:12
#176   Aiden
      
References:


Jack and the beanstalk games https://school-of-safety-russia.ru/
1 June 2026 17:11
#175   Philomena
      
1 June 2026 17:07
#174   Bob
      
References:


Ameristar casino east chicago http://qa.doujiju.com/index.php?qa=user&qa_1=secondtower97
1 June 2026 15:47
#173   Rick
      
1 June 2026 15:15
#172   Shelia
      
References:


Best casinos https://tamzinqsoz000999.getblogs.net
1 June 2026 15:05
#171   Lavonne
      
References:


Diamond jacks casino haleemaxosa947733.blogsmine.com
1 June 2026 12:26
#170   Josefina
      
References:


Wisconsin casinos https://a-taxi.com.ua/
1 June 2026 12:22
#169   Domenic
      
References:


Excalibur casino las vegas https://zoewckq801334.jts-blog.com
1 June 2026 10:40
#168   Shana
      
1 June 2026 10:38
#167   Norine
      
31 May 2026 14:05
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next