U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson In Intensive Care For Coronavirus | MSNBC

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been taken to the intensive care unit after being admitted to a hospital for treatment for COVID-19. A spokesman said Johnson’s condition has “worsened.” Aired on 04/06/2020.
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U.K. Prime Minister Johnson Taken Into Intensive Care Unit For COVID-19 | MSNBC

90 comments

    1. @Mr Tappy ASMR Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, who was transferred to intensive care Monday night, has become a potent symbol of the dangers the coronavirus pandemic poses.

      The fact Johnson has become so ill highlights that this disease can be deadly to even the young and healthy. It also highlights what’s so problematic about the policy his government initially pursued to combat the virus: herd immunity.

      Johnson’s government was much slower to impose social distancing measures than many other European countries.

      On March 12, the same day that France closed schools and asked companies to institute work from home policies, Johnson addressed the British public and declared that the U.K.’s attempts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, with quarantines, testing, and contact tracing, had also failed.

      “I must level with you, level with the British public, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time,” Johnson said.

      The U.K. would now move to a new phase in its strategy against the pandemic, trying to delay the peak of the outbreak, flattening the curve to prevent the National Health Service from being overwhelmed.

      But Johnson did not follow France’s lead, instead simply suggesting the vulnerable older people refrain from going on cruises, that schools consider canceling international class trips, and that people with coronavirus symptoms should self-isolate for seven days.

      His government was pursuing a strategy that rested, at least in part, on the idea of shielding the most vulnerable members of the British public from infection while allowing a large percentage of others to catch the virus. The hope was that most of these people would experience relatively mild symptoms, recover, and wind up immune, stopping the virus’s further transmission.

      But this kind of herd immunity, experts said, could require upwards of 60% of the population becoming infected. Herd immunity as a deliberate policy, epidemiologists said, is usually achieved through a vaccination program. It was untested as a tool for responding to a pandemic.

      Epidemiologists and medical experts immediately assailed the plan as a dangerous gamble. And, when epidemiologists at Imperial College London, who had been advising the government on the likely spread of the virus, updated their models to take into account information on the number of hospital patients requiring intensive care in Italy, it became apparent that the minimal, voluntary restrictions Johnson had suggested were unlikely to save the NHS from being overwhelmed.

      On March 16, just four days after unveiling its herd immunity strategy, Johnson reversed course, ordering all citizens to “stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.” All those who could, needed to work from home. Those over 70 years old or suffering from health conditions were told to isolate themselves at home for up to 12 weeks. If anyone in a household showed symptoms, the entire household was now advised to self isolate for 14 days.

      Despite the stunning reversal and further restrictions, including the closure of schools, announced on March 18, questions remained about whether herd immunity did not, in fact, remain a part of the government’s strategy.

      Epidemiologists, such as Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, have said that even if the government has now abandoned the controversial idea completely, it lost valuable time preparing for the disease.

      For instance, the U.K. has been forced to admit it did not order enough COVID-19 test kits to test large segments of the population. Perhaps because, if it assumed most people would become infected anyway but only experience mild symptoms, such testing would be unnecessary.

      But that failure to prepare has left the U.K. lagging far behind other nations in testing. As of today, the country had tested 208,000 people, a fifth of the number of people Germany had tested.

      This lack of testing has been a particularly acute problem for NHS staff, who are forced to take time off work if they or someone in their household exhibits mild symptoms, but who may, in fact, not be infected. Some hospitals have reported that as much as a third of their staff is currently off sick or self isolating.

      The government has also been criticized for failing to provide enough personal protective equipment for frontline medical staff and a shortage of other critical equipment, including ventilators.

      Most critically, Johnson’s herd immunity strategy rested on the premise that most of those who would become gravely ill with COVID-19 would be the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. That remains true, statistically.

      But the 55-year-old’s own life-threatening fight with the virus shows that even those in their prime and without serious health issues are vulnerable. Johnson’s illness has shaken many in Britain from any lingering complacency.

      Johnson tested positive for coronavirus on March 27 and had reportedly been experiencing mild symptoms including a high temperature and cough, before being brought to the hospital on April 5 on what was described as ‘precautionary’ measures.

      On the evening of April 6, Johnson was transferred to the ICU.

      Until late Monday, the government said Johnson was still in charge of the government. His administration said at the time that if he became unable to work, foreign secretary Dominic Raab would step in.

      The last official communication from Johnson came in a tweet at 1:20 p.m. London time. The Prime Minister said he was “in good spirits” in the hospital and that he was “keeping in touch with my team.” He also thanked “all the brilliant NHS staff taking care of me and others in this difficult time. You are the best of Britain.”

      But some are questioning whether those NHS staff, in whose hands Johnson’s life may now rest, have had their jobs made more difficult by the policies his government chose to pursue in addressing this pandemic

      The Government strategy changed on 16 March because the herd immunity strategy wasn’t working

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ai7gwV7glE

    2. @Mr Tappy ASMR The British Government dropped their plan of herd immunity after the 16th of March!!!!!

      Britain Drops Its Go-It-Alone Approach to Coronavirus
      Johnson government admits its strategy of allowing the virus to spread and build up immunity was a failure but stops short of mandatory controls.

      While continental Europeans were closing schools and putting soldiers on the streets to enforce strict quarantine rules, the British government’s official advice to its citizens was, essentially, just to keep calm and carry on. Schools, restaurants, theaters, clubs, and sporting venues remained open; only the over-70s and those with flu-like symptoms were advised to stay at home. The low-key British response was driven by a controversial theory embraced by the U.K. government’s top scientists: that the best way to ease the long-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic was to allow the virus to spread naturally in order to build up the population’s herd immunity.

      On Monday night, that theory collided with the facts. A new analysis by immunologists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the impact of the coronavirus in Italy suggested that up to 30 percent of patients hospitalized with the virus would require intensive care treatment. Those numbers, if repeated in the U.K., would quickly overwhelm Britain’s state-run National Health Service.

      Within hours of the report, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared at a daily briefing at No. 10 Downing St. to reverse the herd immunity policy. Acknowledging that “drastic action” was required, Johnson announced that from now on Britons should try to work from home and voluntarily refrain from unnecessary travel and social contact.

      [Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak: Get daily updates on the pandemic and learn how it’s affecting countries around the world.]

      But Johnson’s tone, Britain’s policy, and indeed the reaction of many Britons remained in strong contrast to the rest of Europe—a striking echo of the prime minister’s go-it-alone approach to Brexit earlier in the year. Johnson is now taking an approach closer to that of U.S. President Donald Trump—appealing to the public for voluntary cooperation rather than ordering it—than to that of the European Union.

      In contrast, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, warning that his country was “in a state of war” with the coronavirus, announced that citizens would have to register their intention to leave their houses in a nationwide website or face a 38 euro ($42) fine, enforced by 100,000 police officers. Britain has not enforced any mandatory bans on movement or on the opening of bars and places of entertainment.

      Instead, Johnson said that the government was giving “very strong advice that public venues such as theaters should no longer be visited” but added, “I don’t believe it will be necessary to use” enforcement powers. And on the evening of Johnson’s announcement, Twitter filled with images of many Britons cheerfully defying the government’s advice by drinking in pubs and clubs. The following morning, the prime minister’s own father, 79-year-old Stanley Johnson, defiantly told a chat show that “of course I’ll go to a pub if I need to go to a pub.”

      Johnson’s go-it-alone strategy had been under fire for several days from both opposition leaders at home and officials abroad. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn blasted the government for being “complacent” and “well behind the curve” in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Singapore’s Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong told journalists Sunday that the “U.K. and Switzerland … have abandoned any measure to contain or restrain the virus.” Several top British doctors had questioned the scientific rationale behind Johnson’s herd immunity policy, urging the government to publish evidence for its refusal to follow the rest of Europe into immediate lockdown. “We have a small window of opportunity to protect our nation, to learn about this new emerging virus and to deal with this unprecedented threat to global health,” wrote Arne Akbar, the president of the British Society for Immunology. On a less rational level, the hashtag #ToryGenocide trended on Twitter, with users accusing Johnson and his Conservative Party of deliberately allowing the sick and the elderly to die.

      Government insiders insist that the criticism is unfair and that the Johnson administration has stuck strictly to the advice of the country’s best doctors.

      “Of course at a time like this people are going to blame the government for everything,” said one senior civil servant who sees Johnson on a daily basis but is not authorized to speak on the record. “The truth is, what you [the public] hear is what we hear. … Boris has actually been extremely straight. He’s told the British people that there will be deaths. He’s said that this is an extremely serious crisis and that our priority is to save lives, with the presumption that it’s too late to try to contain the outbreak.”

      He added that the idea that the government has been playing down the crisis is “nonsense … we have been acting on the best science that we have.” Monday night’s U-turn was “an excellent example of how we respond, based on science … when the facts change, our policy changes.” As soon as the working team from Imperial College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine submitted its new conclusions that the old go-slow approach would not work, “there was no hesitation: we changed the official advice within three hours,” said the source. In a Monday night press conference coordinated with Johnson’s administration, Imperial College epidemiologist Azra Ghani explained that his team had been “expecting herd immunity to build [but] we now realize it’s not possible to cope with that.” The U.K.’s posture has, accordingly, officially shifted from containment to “epidemic suppression … [as] the only viable strategy at the current time,” Ghani told journalists.

      Yet Britain’s response continues to differ markedly from the rest of the continent’s—as well as from many U.S. states and cities that have mandated full lockdowns. As of Tuesday, Britain and Belarus remained the last two countries in Europe where schools have not been closed. And the U.K. has refused to follow the EU’s lead and ban travel from outside Britain. Though many British airlines have announced that they will be cutting capacity by up to 80 percent, airports, cross-channel ferries, and the Channel Tunnel remain open.

      The U.K. government’s key rationale for not piling on mandatory restrictions on movement and social interactions has been the fear that Britons will develop “behavioral fatigue” and resume normal life before the outbreak is contained. The logic is that strict social quarantine is not sustainable for more than a short period and will lead to new outbreaks of the virus as people defy the restrictions. Last week over 200 prominent British scientists challenged the government’s approach in an open letter that questioned whether “enough is known about ‘behavioural fatigue’”—and said, “‘Carrying on as normal’ for as long as possible undercuts [the] urgency” of the anti-coronavirus message.

      Reliance on sometimes-controversial behavioral science theories has long been a hallmark of a group of key U.K. government advisors—many of whom previously worked on the successful Brexit campaign. Dominic Cummings, chief advisor to Johnson and one of the most powerful figures in the administration, has frequently spoken and written about how data science and behavioral modeling are the key to successful campaigning and governance. The British government’s approach to the coronavirus has reflected Cummings’s faith. Last week, Susan Michie, the director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London and a member of the government’s advisory group on COVID-19, confirmed that a key part of the government’s approach was modeled on the so called “COM-B” model. This theory states that behavior change can only be achieved if a population has sufficient “capability, opportunity, and motivation.”

      “Unless you can tick all three of those, the behavior is not going to happen,” Michie told the Guardian. “If a big bunch of the population is not that concerned and you’re asking people to sacrifice quite a lot, it won’t be as effective if those two things are well-matched.” In other words, according to a source who works with Cummings who requested anonymity, “just telling people to obey isn’t going to work.”

      Insiders believe that the Johnson-Cummings approach of nudging and persuading people into coronavirus-limiting behaviors will ultimately be more effective than the European stance of banning social interaction and punishing lawbreakers.

      “That sort of government bossiness isn’t going to work with British people,” Cummings’s colleague said. “The end result is the same, but it works much better when people choose to do it.” If the behavior of Johnson’s own family is anything to go by, there may be some truth to that logic. If Britain’s new prime minister eventually succeeds in persuading his own father into respecting nationwide quarantine, he may succeed with the rest of the country, too.

    3. M F nope, totally wrong, i’m british i know. There was no official plan for herd immunity stop spreading cancer. I’ve seen every daily briefing pre and post 16th march, just because someone mentions it doesn’t mean its a plan. It was and never has been a plan. If you think it is, then please link me to the video of the daily briefing where that’s discussed, because i can tell you now it doesn’t exist, i’ve seen them all.

      You’re confusing a scientist replying to a basic question of “how many infected would it take to stop the spread” as some sort of formal action plan. This has been fact checked too you know. I await your link to the daily briefing where thus is discussed as the action plan.

  1. Let this be a lesson in “herd immunity” for future generations confronting Pandemics. Good luck to Boris.

    1. @Superior Being I am just mad about what herd immunity implies. It simply is saying all the elderly is disposable and because my parents and grandparents are in that “disposable” age group. I am also mad that people don’t take this virus seriously because most of the younger patients can get through this, but the ones who do not died a HORRIBLE death. Imagine drowning in your home or hospital knowing your family might be next.

    2. @A C It was a poor choice of words but “herd immunity” is likely to be how this will end up being a virus we can cope with, everything the government has done is aimed at protecting the NHS and the keeping the virus away from the vulnerable. At the minute the stats are about half that go on a ventilator die I think so Boris is in real danger. When he used that phrase I don’t know why it was misunderstood because everything else he said was about slowing it down.

    3. He never needed to be in intensive care to begin with, he was only put in there IN Case his health worsened but it didn’t, he was out in three days and looking quite sprite.

  2. Bill Neily’s amateur dramatics ” He will need to be put on a vent IF ONE IS AVAILABLE”. As if there wont be a vent available for the PM. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

    1. Read closely …. “Medical life-support systems include heart-lung machines, medical ventilators and dialysis equipment.”

    2. @Alison Smith Stupidity of the “State” is correct…but.if he can’t get one then why not give one here or anywhere one is available. If their’s one not in use share and share alike what they somewhat say. We are doomed anyway. We are the cash before life State. 5 was already given to Louisiana. We have appx 3 million people here, looks like someone, I can’t imagine who is trying to deplete the population. We had appx 800 or so vents Government gave 5 out, that’s five lives. A few days ago we had 500, others were used. I was just saying we are definitely going to need help from other states, when the virus makes it close to my home, which we’ve had some cases close here already next to me, I would be the last on a vent, if we could find one. They choose who they want to live when vents run out. So unethical. Their should be enough for anyone who needs it. Planning on their part is not my fault. Because he want order a shutdown it’s on him. It really doesn’t matter who you are to me if you need one and there is one borrow it send it back..I’m rambling on, we should not be out having parades, drag racing, standing in Subway toe to toe, an F on the charts for social distancing. It doesn’t matter what I say we already look like idiots on national TV. Ha be careful out there anyway. Hope you can stay home. We can’t. I do hope the prime Minister gets one, I was used to watching his speeches all the time. Hope he gets better and a vent if needed. I just don’t no which one of the millions here get one it’s a lottery prize if you end up getting one. 😑

    3. @Doodle Bug Seems we have a bit more of a different approach here in the UK, when it comes to healthcare here, no one is any different to any other, whether your the PM or Joe Bloggs who cleans toilets for a living, the NHS will try to save every last one of us, not for monetary gain but to ensure we live to see another day, 68 million people in the UK have had to radically change their every day lives, and for the vast majority were doing it, were staying the 2 metres apart and staying home, were all in this together and although I don’t support the Conservatives or Boris, I wish him a speedy recovery as our PM.

    1. I HOPE HE CROAKS , his position weeks ago was this was NO big deal ! NOW how does he feel about it ?? Others will die too because he was a stupid jerk !

    2. @Paul Holt No, just fact – the Communists have it in for you too, Especially E.U. I wish you all the very best of luck and please, Stay Healthy !

  3. Regardless of what the idiots say here, My prayers go out to the prime minister and his family, As well as all our friends in the UK.

    1. it was deception he dont have pneumonia this is killer end liar his victims need prayers this is poisoner the same like his the both faked biteches

    2. @M Tio because I have found in my 54 yrs on this planet, most people engage there mouth before their brain. Too many followers and not enough leaders.

  4. Wishing him and his family thoughts and prayers. Doesn’t matter what a person’s political beliefs are in a time like now. Keep fighting sir!

    1. @Gamma Master yet he did that……why feel sorry for a moron who didnt do anything to save himself

    2. hunk5525 who cares thanks to China the world could be healthy for awhile even though they’re mostly the reason

      WE were not prepared for this and I don’t care

      -People are coming together
      – The worlds trying to de-toxify itself
      -People are saving power and not driving and polluting

      Sure global warming I f we don’t find a solution soon the world will crumble.

      I’m aware I sound like a Bad guy
      With good intentions just going about it wrong

    3. @hunk5525 + siphoned resources (medical equipment ect.) out of countries to China before news of the outbreak got out

    4. I WONDER??? BJ SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO OVER 5000 DEAD IN UK FOR HIS LOOSEN POLICY TO HANDLE COVID 19 ?? POOR BJ…U ARE REAL OR FAKE INFECTED TO AVOID RESPONSIBILITY ??

    5. @Gamma Master I think the cases then were around 500/1000 cases I remembered. Now there are more than 50.000 corona cases in the UK and going up despite the lockdown here.

    1. @Sean Sparks
      Well, I don’t like religion either; my God has NO RELIGION.
      As a matter of fact he came to destroy it.
      Oh by the way, you can laugh all you want it’s okay; it’s harmless anyway, isn’t it..
      It’s okay honey if you don’t like it, I respect your thoughts and feelings; and I’m sure God also do.
      Oh just let me do my job it also doesn’t harm you…
      Just ignore it if that’s what can make you happy.

      Every man has a freedom to choose which path they are to take, just be sure darling you take full responsibility on it. Never blame God.
      For as soon as God gave you instructions and you didn’t listen; it is already you, not the Lord.

      Oh by the way, I am sent by my God, the Spirit of my Lord Jesus Christ my God to give you a warning and to show you the way to salvation; but the decision to believe is still up to you.
      Salvation of course is up to the Lord.

      May the Lord bless you and your family.
      May the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ our God be with you.

    2. MrAntiFarLeft

      Muhammad. And? What’s your problem?

      Muslims are growing fast. White, black, latinos, all sorts accepting Islam. You can’t stop it.

      Right now. Even Muslims are praying daily and making dua which is a request after prayer to God/Allah, for PM boris johnsons recovery. Islam teaches to follow and respect law of the land and to follow/respect whoever is the leader.

    3. Yep – please pray for THEM; the widow will need any help she can get. He’s a goner for sure.

    4. HaSsy MiiA Exactly, Muslims are praying for everyone, even the ones who hates us should stay safe, no one deserve to die like this, parents, husband, wife, children, family, relatives, closed ones all should stay healthy and strong, religion has its impact on society, people who don’t believe in God have no right to abuse the ones who are religious, you should go with your way and we will our way, purpose is same, so why that hate?

    5. @HaSsy MiiA Yes but you have forgotten to Mention how many people are leaving Islam… The numbers are growing… I dont really care what religion you belong too as long you got a good heart but its nice to know muslims are praying for his recovery . Keep safe everyone and please stay indoors and wash your hands !

    1. @Lori Loud IMMORTAL COMMUNIST UTTP THDTC ANTIFA SJW Red Army Troll detected! How funny are you 🤣🤣🤣

    2. I dont agree with his policies, his lifestyle, his demeanor, his occupational integrity.

      So I hope he passes swiftly and they double tap him after

  5. “He may have to be put, if there is one available, on a respirator.”

    A low-key yet savage jab at Boris Johnson’s very own NHS policy.

    1. Only in your mind, Wheeler. And as mentioned elsewhere, it is a ventilator, not a respirator. Save the clever stuff for the lads at the pub.

  6. Well hope he never needs a ventilator so they don’t have to disconnect someone already on it

    1. he’s on ventilator for sure.there are too less oxygen on earth for him. Probably gasping for air like fish on dry land.

  7. This isnt about class race or gender he is a human pray for him and his recovery a virus dont discriminate for sure🙏🙏🙏🙏

    1. @Hawk Who Knows All About 50% do from what I’ve read but don’t let facts get in your way, there was some nice footage of folk waving goodbye as they left the unit on the news today.

    2. @SpringRoll Wang From what I’ve been reading, with the new treatments (mixing the two drugs), the critical time-frame is 3-4 days.

    3. @Superior Being

      READ From SOURCE WRITTEN by SPECULATORs ….Even WHO and SCIENTIST are SPECULATING Things like OH.. It MAY Be SPREADING Through AIR.. It May Be SPREADING Through CASH NOTEs…And TOMORROW They Will TELL OH.! It was SPREADING Through AIRPORTs WHO RESEARCHES FOUND OUT ATLAST….
      Any COMMON SENSE HUMAN Would have FIGURED IT OUT in 1 DAY.

    4. @Hawk Who Knows All As long as he doesn’t have any pre-existing respiratory problems he should be fine, my dad’s neighbor was in intensive care for 3 days and she came out of it just fine at the age of 69. That’s not to say it wasn’t a rough 3 days though…

  8. “If there’s one available”….. please tell me that was a satire.
    As long as you’re a politician, celebrity, millionaire, etc; there’s more than enough resources and medical equipment to go around.

    1. …as there should be for those who are the ones paying for all this communist/socialist equipement. Don’t like that? Then go earn the money and buy your own.

  9. I hope he makes it’s out of ICU ….and I hope he learns to never to make light of a global pandemic ever again.

    1. Boris is one of the best pms we’ve had love him or hate him you can see he wants whats best for this country and he’s dedicated to doing everything he can.

    2. @SpringRoll Wang Mate Taiwan couldn’t run a bath never mind the UK, put your hand in front of your mouth before you speak next time.

  10. “If there is one available”, please now, I am quite certain privilege applies to ventilators as it does all other necessities and comforts of life.

    1. It’s Boris… If he needs _(or even just fancies)_ a vent – I’m sure his cronies will kick some old, unemployed or disabled person of theirs. You know how this works. You wanna ventilator? Get a job, you scroungers!

      Besides, I’m pretty sure the minister in charge of benefits has already been round sanctioning any welfare claimants and taking away their vents… y’know… for _”lying in bed all day expecting everyone else to do their breathing for them”. _

    2. @Zianb Zianb shhhh … the adults are busy with adult stuff.

      Anyway, I’ve told you before, no internet until you finish your spelling homework!

    3. @Frank Garrett And he’s the Prime Minister, not the leader of the opposition!

      Ooh, you’re right Frank… correcting things that nobody even said *is* fun! XD

  11. Hope he recovers quickly and comes back with best health. Love ❤️ and prayers 🙏🏼from India. 🇮🇳

  12. Shaking everybody’s hand is definitely not a good idea by these times…especially when visiting a hospital as he stated publically a few days ago.
    Still, wish him the best

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