BREAKING: Boris Johnson Still In ICU, Stable And Responding To Treatment

Boris Johnson is ‘stable and responding to treatment’ after his second night in intensive care, it was revealed on Wednesday.  

Downing Street delivered slightly more positive news about the PM’s condition amid claims his fever has finally dropped.

Mr. Johnson’s official spokesman said he continues to receive ‘standard oxygen treatment’ and is ‘breathing without any other assistance’ – making clear he is not on a ventilator.

‘The Prime Minister remains clinically stable and is responding to treatment,’ the spokesman said.

‘He continues to be cared for in the intensive care unit at St Thomas’s Hospital. He’s in good spirits.

No10 confirmed that the PM has not been doing any work, although they confirmed he has been in contact with aides.

There are fears that even the best outcome from his coronavirus struggle will see him out of action for weeks, with experts warning he could need a ‘phased return’ to work.

There are also questions about the PM’s care while he was in isolation, amid suggestions he was not physically monitored and only consulted a doctor by video link. There are claims that social distancing rules were being flouted in Downing Street as the crisis developed, with meetings in cramped rooms and people coughing freely.

Tory MPs are calling for a review of the premier’s medical arrangements, saying the lack of protection has been ‘exposed’ by the latest crisis.

The UK leader has starkly different health support than in the US, where the president has a dedicated medical team and emergency facilities constantly on standby.

Conservative PM Marcus Fysh told MailOnline the situation was party a historical anomaly due to the different political systems.

‘We’ve got a constitutional monarchy so the monarch is the head of states and has all of that. In America the President is head of state, so that is probably why it has come through in this way. But it is worth considering whether there should in future be special measures for health within the No10 operation.

‘I had the privilege of visiting the White House a couple of years ago… all his food is cooked by the US Navy.

‘He has got a special water system that is protected and separate from the rest of the public system. It is very well organised.

‘They are prepared for every eventuality there in a way I guess has been exposed that we need to think about a bit more.’

‘It is worth keeping these things under review because we need to protect our decision makers.’

Mr Fysh said he believed the PM would ‘bounce back’ and was now ‘in very good hands’ at St Thomas’. These are teams that are at the top of their game,’ he said.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been ‘deputised’ to fill in for the PM, but the potential issues caused by Mr Johnson’s absence have been underlined as the crucial review of lockdown measures was postponed.

Health minister Edward Argar confirmed this morning that consideration of whether the draconian measures should still apply was being postponed. Pressed on when the review will happen, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘When the scientific advice is such that we appear to have gone over the peak and it is safe to do so.’

Meanwhile, there are tight limits on Mr Raab’s control of government, as he cannot hire or fire ministers and will not have audiences with the Queen, although No10 insists the UK’s military response and nuclear deterrent have not been compromised.

Downing Street is expected to give a formal update on the premier’s condition later, after saying last night the he is ‘stable’.

According to the Times, his ‘persistent’ temperature has finally dropped while he has been in hospital.

At the daily Downing Street press briefing last night, Mr Raab said he is ‘confident’ the PM will pull through after a worsening of his coronavirus symptoms.

Mr Raab stressed that they could not consider easing the lockdown restrictions until it was clear the peak of the epidemic had passed and it could be ‘responsibly done’.

Downing Street confirmed the review would take place after the three-week mark originally committed to.

But the emergency legislation laid before Parliament three days after the PM’s announcement states that a review must take place every 21 days, with the first deadline being April 16.

The news came despite cautious optimism from chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance that the fight against COVID-19 ‘could be moving in the right direction’.

Sir Patrick said there were signs that the rates of new infections and new hospital admissions for COVID-19 were ‘flattening off’.

But he added it would be another ‘week or so’ before they could be sure, indicating lockdown measures would not be eased before then.

President Donald Trump claimed overnight that the UK was ‘desperate’ for ventilators and had called the US with an urgent plea for 200 to treat the sickest patients.

‘We’re going to work it out, we’ve got to work it out,’ he said. ‘They’ve been great partners. They wanted 200, they need them desperately.’

Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, finally admitted yesterday that the UK needed to learn from the example of Germany where the number of deaths appeared to be growing more slowly.

‘We all know that Germany got ahead in terms of its ability to do testing for the virus and there’s a lot to learn from that and we’ve been trying to learn the lessons from that,’ he said.