Dominic Raab says ‘fighter’ Boris Johnson will beat coronavirus
Dominic Raab has paid tribute to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying “he’s a fighter” and will beat his coronavirus diagnosis.
Raab, who is now deputising for Johnson, said at today’s press briefing that the Prime Minister would be “back at the helm” in “short order”.
Johnson went into intensive care last night after his coronavirus symptoms worsened yesterday afternoon.
Raab said he was in good spirits today and was breathing without the assistance of a ventilator or any other non-invasive respiratory device.
“I’m confident he will pull through,” Raab said.
“Because if there’s one thing I know about this prime minister is he’s a fighter and he’ll be back at the helm leading us through this crisis in short order.
“He’s not just the Prime Minister to all of us cabinet, he’s not just our boss – he’s also a colleague and he’s also our friend.”
Raab chaired the daily C19 “war cabinet” this morning and will be responsible for running government while Johnson cannot.
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The foreign secretary and the cabinet collectively have the power to make national security decisions, however he will not be having weekly meetings with the Queen.
The foreign secretary said the Prime Minister had given him instructions relating to coronavirus to him and the rest of the cabinet.
“His team will not blink, will not flinch from the task at hand at this crucial moment,” he said.
“We will keep all of our focus and our resolve with calm determination to deliver our plan to defeat the coronavirus.”
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance also spoke at the briefing, claiming that things “may be moving in the right direction”.
The number of UK coronavirus deaths shot up by 854 today to take the toll to more than 6,000.
However, Vallance said that the growth in the number of hospital admissions and intensive care admissions had appeared to flatten in recent days.
He said any change in the trajectory of the number of Covid-19 deaths would lag a few weeks behind hospital admission numbers.
Vallance said: “It does begin to suggest that things might be moving in the right direction in terms of numbers and it’s important we carry on with the measures we have in place to make sure this does go in the right direction.
“[Intensive care unit admissions] may be going in the right direction as well, but I do want to say a big thank you to everyone in the NHS.”