Coronavirus: British PM Boris Johnson in Intensive Care Unit as covid-19 symptoms worsen

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to the intensive care unit of a #London hospital after his #coronavirus symptoms worsened.

He has been suffering from coronavirus symptoms for 10 days and he went to hospital on Sunday.

Intensive care is where doctors look after the sickest patients – so Boris Johnson’s admission to ICU is the clearest indication of how ill the prime minister is.

We do not know the full details of his condition, but we have been told he is conscious and not being ventilated.

Not every patient in intensive care is ventilated, but around two-thirds are within 24 hours of admission with Covid-19.

This is a disease that attacks the lungs and can cause pneumonia and difficulty breathing.

This leaves the body struggling to get enough oxygen into the blood and to the body’s vital organs.

There is no proven drug treatment for Covid-19, although there are many experimental candidates.

But the cornerstone of the prime minister’s care will depend on getting enough oxygen into his body and supporting his other organs while his immune system fights the virus.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has now taken over the running of government in Johnson’s absence.