British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital after being treated for coronavirus. The announcement was made by Downing Street on Sunday. Johnson is not expected to return to work immediately and will recuperate at his county residence, Chequers
"On the advice of his medical team, the PM will not be immediately returning to work. He wishes to thank everybody at St Thomas' for the brilliant care he has received," the statement said.
Heading home after a week
Johnson was admitted to the St Thomas' hospital in London exactly a week ago on Sunday 5 April. He had announced his diagnosis on 27 March via a video and had been in self-isolation since then. As his condition worsened, he was moved to intensive care and put on ventilator.
The 55-year-old was moved out of intensive care on Thursday. However, he continued to be under observation as he recovered from the infection. On Saturday night, Johnson issued a short statement thanking and praising the staff at St Thomas'. "I can't thank them enough, I owe them my life," he said.
Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, told Sky News that Johnson was "in very good spirits" and he was "walking about a bit".
Partner takes to Twitter to express gratitude
Carrie Symonds, Johnson's pregnant fiancé, took to Twitter to thank the health care workers at St Thomas' following his discharge. She wrote: "I cannot thank our magnificent NHS enough. The staff at St Thomas' Hospital have been incredible. I will never, ever be able to repay you and I will never stop thanking you."
In another tweet, she expressed her support to all those who have been affected by the ongoing pandemic. She said: "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."
As of now, over 79,000 confirmed cases and nearly 10,000 deaths have been reported in the UK.
(With inputs from agencies)
