British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized for tests on Sunday after suffering persistent symptoms of the new coronavirus 10 days after he tested positive for the illness, his office said.
It said his admission to a hospital, under his doctor’s advice, was a precautionary step.
An official said the admission wasn’t an emergency, but was considered sensible given his continuing symptoms, which included a high temperature. Mr. Johnson, 55 years old, was said to remain in charge of the government, and in contact with ministerial colleagues and officials.
Mr. Johnson has been in isolation in his apartment at 11 Downing Street since testing positive for the virus.
Her Majesty The Queen addresses the UK and the Commonwealth in a special broadcast recorded at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/HjO1uiV1Tm
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 5, 2020
The announcement of Mr. Johnson’s hospitalization came minutes after a rare, special televised speech to the nation by Queen Elizabeth II, who drew parallels with British experience during World War II.
The monarch, in a prerecorded address from Windsor Castle, thanked health care workers and focused on the difficulties of being isolated from loved ones. She cited a radio address she made as Princess Elizabeth, along with her sister, Princess Margaret, 80 years ago, as children were being evacuated from cities to avoid bombing attacks.
“We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do,” she said.
But she drew a contrast with the war. “This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.”
She concluded with an echo of a popular World War II song. “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again.”
Apart from her annual addresses at Christmas, the queen has made such special addresses only four times before in her 68-year reign, the last on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The queen spoke as the number of Covid-19 victims in the U.K. continued to rise. The government reported 621 more deaths on Sunday, bringing the total fatalities to 4,934, while the number of confirmed cases rose by almost 5,000 to 49,806.
Across the Irish Sea, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who formerly worked as a doctor, said he would return to practice medicine for one day a week to help deal with the outbreak, the national broadcaster RTE reported.