Correspondent in London
After the Crown, the executive. Two days after the announcement of Prince Charles' coronavirus contamination, the Prime Minister in turn fell to the brink of the epidemic. Boris Johnson announced Friday that he has tested positive, becoming the first of the high-powered heads of state and government to be affected by the disease. Now the general-in-chief will lead the battle behind his door. For the British and for himself.
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Claiming to suffer from only "mild symptoms" - fever and persistent cough -, Boris Johnson placed himself in solitary confinement for seven days but assured that he remained in control. "I will continue to lead the government's response by videoconference as we fight this virus," he said in a video posted to his Twitter account. This is how he held a Council of Ministers on Friday morning. If Boris Johnson was no longer able to assume his function, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominic Raab, was appointed to temporarily fulfill his role.
Friday the tone changed
The Prime Minister will move to the next number, 11 Downing Street, where documents and meals will be left outside his door, his services said. Aged 55, "BoJo" felt symptoms on Thursday, the day after the ritual session of government questions in parliament. It has not been specified whether his young partner, Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant, has been tested.
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A few minutes after Boris Johnson's announcement, we learned that his right arm in the fight against the pandemic was also contaminated. Health Minister Matt Hancock has announced that he will stay in his home until next Thursday, showing only "very mild" symptoms so far. A little later, Chris Whitty, the director general of health for England, also put himself in solitary confinement after feeling the first symptoms. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, another key part of the government, told him that he was going to work from home, even if he had no alarming signs so far.
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As with the announcement of Prince Charles's contamination, the question of when Boris Johnson had last seen the Queen immediately arose. Buckingham said it dates back to March 11, the day before Elizabeth II's last meeting with her son. The 93-year-old sovereign is at Windsor Castle and is "in good health" .
On social media, a video came out on Thursday, that of a press conference by Boris Johnson, three weeks ago. While everywhere in Europe the measures were being draconian, the Prime Minister was jovial and assured that he did not intend to change his habits. "I'm shaking hands," he said. I was in the hospital the other night, where I believe there were coronavirus patients, and I shook hands with everyone, you'll be glad to know that. And I will continue to shake hands . ” He added that it was enough to wash your hands well afterwards. Friday, the tone changed. And despite the containment of the population finally decided on Monday, the spread of the coronavirus further accelerated on Friday, the number of deaths rising to 759, an increase of a third in twenty-four hours. An official of the public health service (NHS) described Thursday the influx of sick people in London hospitals as a real "tsunami" .