From Sardar Shahab
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a video message has revealed of going into isolation as was tested positive for the coronavirus after he developed mild symptoms of the disease.
The Johnson’s video message stated, “I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.”
According to a Downing Street spokesman, Johnson, 55, experienced mild symptoms on Thursday – a day after he answered at the prime minister’s weekly question-and-answer session in the chamber of the House of Commons. “The prime minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty,” he added. The spokesman further stated, “The test was carried out in No 10 by National Health Service staff and the result of the test was positive.”
The British prime minister will remain in charge while in isolation at No 10, Downing Street, his official residence and the headquarters of the British government.There are more than 11,600 confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK. More than 570 people have died from the disease.
Earlier this week, the Prince of Wales, the first in line to the British throne, had tested positive for the virus. He remains in good health, according to reports.
Meanwhile, The death toll in Spain soared over 4,800 Friday after 769 people died in 24 hours, in what was a record one-day figure for fatalities in the country, the government said. Spain has the world s second-highest death toll after Italy, and has so far suffered 4,858 deaths, while the number of cases jumped to 64,059. Although the figures showed a daily increase of nearly 8,000 new infections, the uptick comes as Spain moves to dramatically increase its rate of testing, ordering millions of new kits from around the world. Despite the increase, the rate of new infections appears to be slowing, registering a 14 percent increase compared with 18 percent on Thursday.
Even so, the number of deaths over a 24-hour period was far higher than Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last update on Thursday night. Italy has so far suffered 8,165 deaths as a result of the epidemic with 80,539 people infected. Until Thursday night, Italy had registered the largest number of declared cases until it was overtaken by the United States, where 85,991 people have now tested positive for the virus. Spain implemented a stringent nationwide lockdown on March 14 which will not be lifted until at least April 11, with the latest figures raising hope that the measures to curb the virus were beginning to take effect.
