this it outside sais. outside source. the british prime minister borisjohnson remains source. the british prime minister boris johnson remains in source. the british prime minister borisjohnson remains in hospital with symptoms of coronavirus. his collea g u es with symptoms of coronavirus. his colleagues say that he is still in charge. he has had a comfortable night, he is in good spirit and he is being readily updated and he still remains in charge of the government. we are getting on with all the various strands of work to

make sure that we can defeat the virus at home and abroad. more than 10,000 people have now died in the usa from the virus. new york's governor says the pressure on hospitals is unsustainable. there is hope that spain may have passed the peak of the outbreak as the number of people who have died after contracting the virus falls for the fourth day in a row. we will have the latest on the outbreak from the rest of europe as a jamie's chancellor says it is the biggest threat that the european union has ever faced. threat that the european union has everfaced. —— threat that the european union has ever faced. —— germany's threat that the european union has everfaced. —— germany's chancellor. the uk prime minister has thanked medical staff as he prepares to spend a second night in hospital. he was admitted to st thomas hospital in london with persistent symptoms including a temperature and a car. he has been on social media and tweeted that he was going in for some routine tests, adding that he was in good spirits and keeping in touch with his team as we work

together to fight this virus. he is keeping in touch with everyone and he first tested positive for this disease ten days ago. downing street has refused to say whether he is receiving oxygen treatment or are suffering from pneumonia. this is the latest from the government daily press briefing. he was admitted to... and that was because some of the symptoms he had persisted. he is in good spirits and is being readily updated. he is still in charge of the government and we are getting on with all the various strands of work to make sure that we can defeat the virus at home and abroad. so we can pull the country through the challenges we're facing at the moment. let us take a look at the numbers from the rest of the uk. the numbers from the rest of the uk. the number of people have died in uk hospitals after testing positive now stands at 5373. that is a daily rise

of 439. the second consecutive day that this total has in fact the figures don't take into account people who have died in the community or indeedin indeed ina indeed in a care home. this graph was released by the government and shows the daily number of cases since mid—march. the government says it would be much higher without the lockdown measures. these are the hospital admissions shown in this particular graph, officials are watching these numbers extremely closely because they will be the test of where the current measures are infact test of where the current measures are in fact doing enough to stop the spread of coronavirus. he is the government deputy scientific adviser. we need a good long time series of data on all of these stages of infection in order to be able to tell what the impact of the measures that came in on the 23rd march will be. it too early to tell

yet but we need people to carry on following the instructions so that we can work out, three weeks later, what actually happens in hospitals. we heard from the daily briefing today, let us go to westminster now. chris, when it comes to the prime minister, a second night for boris johnson. our political editor asked at the briefing that if he wasn't well enough to leave hospital, is he well enough to leave hospital, is he well enough to lead the country? that is the question. the government says that the answer is yes, he is well enough to lead the country, he is still receiving his ministerial red box in which the that the prime minister is presented with everyday requiring his attention and signature in order to keep the wheels of government turning that thatis wheels of government turning that that is still happening, he is receiving them in hospital and that the tests are continuing, because the tests are continuing, because the symptoms that he has been suffering from for the last ten or 11 days also had persisted, a high temperature and persistent cough. last night when this story first

broke and we were first told that borisjohnson was in hospital, it is 24 borisjohnson was in hospital, it is 2a hours later now since he went to hospital, we were told because it was the persistence of the symptoms rather than a deterioration or a development of any new symptoms and the insistence coming from the government, from dominic raab, the foreign secretary and the de facto deputy, is that borisjohnson remains in charge, although dominic raab did check that coronavirus meeting this morning, which is normally chaired by the prime minister. but, throughout government, they are insisting that there isn't an interim prime minister, dominic raab is not performing that role, borisjohnson is still doing thatjob. performing that role, borisjohnson is still doing that job. chris, we had a weekend of very warm weather, there was a lot of concern when it comes to the lockdown here in the uk, did the british public do their bit and stay indoors when it comes to the figures? broadly speaking,

the statistics suggest that yes that is the case, we hear every day in these government briefings the mantra that people need to stick to the social distancing guidelines and only leave the house for essential purposes and all the rest of it. why, because that is the principal way to drive down the infection rate, in other words, way to drive down the infection rate, in otherwords, how way to drive down the infection rate, in other words, how many people a single person goes on to infect themselves. the government and scientists are well aware that we are two weeks into it in the uk, people may be tiring of it, not least because of the good weather, but it takes this long, as we were hearing there from the deputy chief scientific adviser, it takes this long for people to be infected, to show symptoms and for a small proportion of them to be hospitalised. it won't be for a few days that we get any sense from the hospitalisation rate if the lockdown has made a difference and that is white ministers and advisers are putting off any public conversations

about the exit strategy, how you unwind from this degree of lockdown, until they have seen if they are existing measures have actually worked. thank you so much, chris mason there. let us turn away from the uk and have a look at the rest of europe. i will give you an update from spain because spain has the highest number of cases across europe, there are hopes though that is the peak may have passed. it is because for a fourth consecutive day, the number of deaths has in fa ct fa lle n day, the number of deaths has in fa ct fallen to day, the number of deaths has in fact fallen to 637 fatalities in the past 2a hours. last week, up to 950 people were dying every day, so you can see that drop, of course it is still tragic but there is a drop and s03 still tragic but there is a drop and so a bit of hope there. he is a spokesperson for the spanish health ministry. what we are seeing is that the rate of increase in this

pandemic is falling and this decrease is also reflected in the number of secondary infections. this isa number of secondary infections. this is a very good indicator in epidemiological terms for us and we will be monitoring carefully this decrease over the coming days. well, spanish officials are planning to widen testing to include those that are not showing any symptoms. spain's population has been under a strict lockdown for three weeks. the government would like the lockdown to be extended a further two weeks because they believe it would take another two weeks to ensure that the virus is brought under control. that proposal will be taken to parliament under control. that proposal will be ta ken to parliament later this under control. that proposal will be taken to parliament later this week, we believe the prime minister will approve that, getting approval from parliament. after the easter holidays, some of the toughest

restrictions may be lifted because of concerns about the economy. let us of concerns about the economy. let us have a look at italy because the deaths from this virus shot up from its lowest level in more than two weeks, very concerning use there. in the past 2a hours, the number of people who have died jumped from 525 to 636. officials are sounding a little more cautious about the possible easing of restrictions. they are very nervous about anything that could lead to a new outbreak but perhaps a tiny hilltop village just outside of rome could give us some answers about coronavirus. last week, this entire area was sealed off after a cluster of cases was discovered there. now, the village is being turned into a giant laboratory with all its residents being tested. we are 1,900 people. we are in quarantine. once a sleepy hilltop village, now a militarised red zone. everything happened very quickly.

the army comes and say nobody can enter, nobody can exit. the town was sealed off after 77 cases of coronavirus were discovered here last week. how do you feel about this? very upset. we are so confused. people called me on the phone and said, "are we sick? are we sick? what's up? " the virus started in a care home and spread quickly without doctors realising. two people died, the rest were taken to hospital. how are you feeling? translation: i'm feeling well. i don't have a fever. this doctor was also infected. she is recovering in the next—door village. translation: at first it didn't look like coronavirus. it all started with some people getting sick, as they usually do because they are very old. we even have a 104—year—old woman.

to quarantine an entire village is unusual, but given everything italy has gone through, authorities were just so nervous about having an area so contaminated and the thought that would be allowed to spread. now the village is being turned into a human coronavirus laboratory. everyone is to be tested. and this is day one. translation: it's an interesting place, because it's a small village and quite contained, with a population of more than 1800 people that can be tested quickly. the researchers are trying to work out exactly how the virus spread through a community, and how many people display symptoms. they will then trial possible treatments. our sacrifice will be used for the entire scientific community. this tiny microcosm may well provide a somewhat massive answers on how this virus lives and dies. jean mackenzie, bbc news.

let us turn to austria which has been the first country in europe to lift the lockdown restrictions. if the public sticks to social distancing rules over the easter period then smaller, nonessential shops could be allowed to open in just over one week's time. however, face masks that you can see will still have to be worn in all shops and also on public transport. here is the chancellor. our aim is to allow small shops, up to 400 square metres, as well as hardware and garden shops to open again by april the 14th. of garden shops to open again by april the 14th. of course, with very strict safety precautions. from the 1st of may, our aim is to allow all shops, shopping centres and hairdressers to reopen. all other

services, hospitality and hotels, will open step—by—step by mid—may the earliest. the situation in austria there. to bring you some breaking news from the uk, the british prime minister borisjohnson has been admitted to intensive care with those persistent symptoms of coronavirus. that is breaking news there in the past few seconds. the prime minister has been under the ca re of prime minister has been under the care of doctors in a hospital in london and he is being now admitted into intensive care with those persistent symptoms of coronavirus. he has been in hospital since sunday evening, we were expecting him to stay in the hospital for a second night, in this hospital, st thomas hospital but we heard earlier on from his tweets that he was doing well and we heard earlierfrom dominic raab that he was still very

much in charge of what was happening. laura kunz berg —— laura kuenssberg. berg -- laura kuenssberg. yes, from seven o'clock tonight the prime minister was taken to intensive care, the statement makes clear that he is receiving excellent care and he is receiving excellent care and he wants to thank everyone from the nhs but something important has changed and he is now in intensive ca re changed and he is now in intensive care rather than being looked after by medics and he felt it necessary to ask the foreign secretary, dominic raab, to deputise for him. that is a completely different message from what we heard in the last 18 hours or so, which was that the prime minister is still in touch

and in charge, very much business as usual. clearly now, the brightness to be in intensive care changes everything. his condition worsened over the course of the afternoon, we are told he is still conscious but he has been moved to intensive care asa he has been moved to intensive care as a precaution in case he requires ventilation. very difficult news to hear, laura. we heard your question earlier on during the daily press briefing and you asked whether, if the prime minister was not well enough to come out of hospital, was he well enough to govern the country? as you are saying, the government message was that he was very much in charge, that cannot be sustainable with this latest development. that is right. as i say, we are getting very sporadic small bits of information throughout the day, there is something of a vacuum to be honest, speaking to

people in government who would normally be forthcoming were sticking to a very rigid script that he was in good spirits, he was working and he was cracking on as best he could, that changed very dramatically in the last ten minutes, but also something slightly more puzzling was at the press conference the foreign secretary said he had spoken to the prime minister, he hadn't spoken to the prime minister since saturday, that seemed odd, at that point the situation was clearly already getting worse and as we then latterly discovered just after eight o'clock, the prime minister has in fa ct o'clock, the prime minister has in fact been moved to intensive care. we know from a spokesperson from number ten that the prime minister is receiving excellent care and they wa nt to is receiving excellent care and they want to pass on thanks to all the nhs staff for their hard work and

their dedication and, as you are saying, he has been in st thomas's hospital since sunday evening, of course it is very difficult, difficult situation given the seriousness of coronavirus it's self, but in terms of the detail of the condition, we simply don't know. orwe the condition, we simply don't know. or we don't know and we were told last night. we were told that he was just having routine tests but we have struggled to find out today what the test before and we know that it has been more than ten or 11 days that he has had persistent symptoms, high temperature and a persistent cough, all we know at the moment is that his condition worsened over the afternoon and therefore this decision has been made as a precaution to him being in intensive care tonight, so seriously, clearly it is very

serious. downing street are emphasising still that it is a precaution but it is still a huge moment. it was a huge moment when he was taken to hospital last night, it was taken to hospital last night, it was a big milestone in how the crisis is unfolding and so many people who have been hit in heart of government by this but have the prime minister in intensive care at a time when the country is trying to respond to an emergency, the government is trying to through an emergency the nation's health and economy, it really is a worrying development and i think something that will come as a surprise. i was talking to cabinet ministers about this this morning and many of them sounded relaxed, i'm glad he is going to have a rest and so on, but this is a very different situation to that. an extremely different situation laura, we talk about him continuously working, just six hours ago, he was tweeting about the advice, on the advice of my doctor,

he tweeted, i went into hospital for some routine tests, i'm still experiencing symptoms, i'm in good spirits and keeping in touch with my tea m spirits and keeping in touch with my team as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe so only six hours ago, he was very much keeping everybody up—to—date as he has been over there few days when we initially heard about his symptoms with those little video messages that we are watching now from a couple of days ago. so, very difficult to understand now that he is in intensive care. for anybody who is just is in intensive care. for anybody who isjustjoining us, just to restate, boris johnson, who isjustjoining us, just to restate, borisjohnson, the british prime minister has been admitted into intensive care, a spokesperson for number ten says he is receiving excellent ca re for number ten says he is receiving excellent care and passing on thanks for all the nhs staff for all the ha rd for all the nhs staff for all the hard work and dedication. but, for the united kingdom, we heard the queen making a statement to the

nation just yesterday, this queen making a statement to the nationjust yesterday, this is queen making a statement to the nation just yesterday, this is a devastating blow. it is certainly a very sad turn in all of this, of course, and rather an unexpected one, and we will have to see in the coming days... downing street says this is a precaution, he is on the right place to receive ventilation if needed in the future, but this is obvious they are very serious moment. we don't know what comes next other than the prime minister has asked dominic rav to deputise for him but giving up any pretence that he is able to mind the shop when he is in intensive care. we heard dominic rav take on this press statement that we have seen every day, dominic raab gave his today, i know you pose the first question. he

wa nts to know you pose the first question. he wants to show that the prime minister was very much in control, that situation will obviously change, but dominic raab is now at the helm of british government? yes, indeed. for the time being, the helm of british government? yes, indeed. forthe time being, dominic raab has the official title now as first secretary of state, that means that somebody is a de facto deputy, they are the official understudy and for him, this is also a huge moment, already this morning he chaired the government's coronavirus daily emergency meeting that they hold every morning but at that point, it really didn't seem as if he would actually be taking on the role. there was some chatter this afternoon among tory mps that the they weren't happy that the prime list wasn't stepping back in order to get better. now, this choice been taken out of his hands. so, when it

comes to the way that... we don't have a deputy prime minister in this country, as you are outlining, the role of dominic raab, borisjohnson didn't choose a deputy, which shows how in control he was and was seen, was wanted to be seen to be. in the uk though, it doesn't always work, there isn't a vice president role or something like that, there tends to be somebody who can act as a de fa cto be somebody who can act as a de facto pm, that is the grand sounding title, first secretary of state, somebody who is able to deputise in particular circumstances, at prime minister's questions for example, but it is a quirk of british politics that there isn't this official position at like in other countries. and of course, we are

just hearing within the past few minutes, we are coming to terms with it, the fact that the british prime minister borisjohnson it, the fact that the british prime minister boris johnson has it, the fact that the british prime minister borisjohnson has been taken into minister borisjohnson has been ta ken into intensive minister borisjohnson has been taken into intensive care with coronavirus. the foreign secretary is now deputising for him. even hours before, borisjohnson was tweeting that his spirits were up. when it comes to what we know, it is very limited in terms of his condition, he wasn't looking fantastic during the thursday night applause for the nhs and it sounds, well, that he wasn't looking great, it was looking a bit tired, but he did come out and applaud the nhs workers, very much doing his part to keep morale up. yes, he was wanting to be seen publicly, but as you say,

it was perfectly clear that he had been struggling to shake this illness off and that he was working in self isolation in the flat in downing street where he was chairing meetings via video link. but, now, staying at home in downing street with being looked after there was not enough for the way the illness is progress for him in the last few days. laura kuenssberg, our political editor. thank you very much. just to remind viewers joining us at the moment, the british prime minister borisjohnson us at the moment, the british prime minister boris johnson has us at the moment, the british prime minister borisjohnson has taken into intensive been care with coronavirus. the foreign secretary dominic raab will be deputising for the prime minister. i can bring you a statement from number ten from number ten downing st, since sunday evening the prime list has been under the care of doctors at st thomas's hospital in central london after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus. over the

course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and the statement goes on to say that on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary who was the first secretary of state to deputise for him when necessary. the pm is receiving excellent care and thanks all nhs staff that their hard work and dedication. that is a statement from number ten downing st, a spokesperson speaking on behalf, giving that statement that since sunday, the prime minister has been under the care of doctors at st thomas's hospital in london and just reiterating that he is receiving excellent ca re reiterating that he is receiving excellent care and wanting to thank all the nhs staff for their hard work and their dedication, something that the prime minister himself did, standing outside number ten downing st, clapping for the nhs workers,

those front—line workers, clapping for the care workers and all the key workers who are on the front line of this pandemic, which has now taken the prime minister into intensive care, so that breaking news that the british prime minister, boris johnson, is in intensive care. he has been moved to intensive care after spending in st thomas's hospital since sunday evening, having shown symptoms of coronavirus, but just having shown symptoms of coronavirus, butjust even seven hours ago, looking at his twitter feed, he was tweeting that on the advice of his doctor, he went into hospital, he described them as routine tests. seven hours ago, the prime minister describing his admittance into st thomas's hospital as admittance into st thomas's hospital as going into routine tests, because he was still experiencing the coronavirus symptoms that we have been hearing out over the past few

days and the stated that, i am in good spirits, i'm keeping in touch with my team, we are working together to fight this virus and to keep everyone safe and he added that he wanted to thank all the brilliant staff taking care of him and others in this difficult time. in his tweet, he said, you are the best in britain. he said, stay safe everyone. please remember to stay at home to protect the nhs and to save lives. just yesterday, he said, thank you for doing your bit is in the fight against coronavirus, saying stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. of course, there was and save lives. of course, there was a lot of concern over the weekend with the temperatures here in the uk reaching the 20s, that it would be a beautiful day with people eager to get outside but the prime minister

stressing to everyone on sunday the 5th of april, stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives and he is now in the hands of the nhs. he is in intensive care after having spent sunday evening in st thomas's hospital in central london. and just earlier on today, he described this ina earlier on today, he described this in a tweet as going in for routine tests, as it was experiencing the coronavirus symptoms. just stressing that he is in good spirits, keeping in touch with his team, working together to fight his virus, this virus and working to keep everyone safe. that is what he posted seven hours ago on his twitter feed, describing that decision to go into hospital as being routine, because of those concerns about the coronavirus symptoms that we have been hearing about that he has

experience for a number of days. but, in his own ways, he said he was keeping in good spirits, keeping in touch with his team as we work together to fight this virus in order to keep everyone safe. he also added his thanks that he wanted to say thank you to all the brilliant nhs staff who are taking care of him and others in this difficult time. he added, you are the best of britain and of course, adding stay safe everyone, please a stay at home to protect the nhs and save lives. the uk is now entering its third week of lockdown. we can cross over now to speak to iain duncan smith whojoins us on now to speak to iain duncan smith who joins us on the telephone. your initial reaction is that the british prime minister is in intensive care? i'm shocked, i suspect, like anyone else. he's a friend, and as prime

minister, it is a bad moment, in a sense. i'm deeply saddened, really, that it should come to this. he's obviously worked like mad to try to get through this, but it has not been enough so far. but that does not mean necessarily that he will not pull through this, because they may have put him in intensive care because they couldn't treat him and he may have a secondary infection, a serious chest infection which will stabilise until they can get after it and get him through this and out the other side much quicker and in a more stable way. so let us hope and pray that boris is in the best of hands and will pull through. sir ian duncan smith, we don't know the exact position he's in, we haven't had that much detail. earlier today the prime minister tweeted that he had gone in, was admitted to hospital last night for routine tests. we don't know the exact condition he's in, but he is now in

intensive care. how does the responsibility for governing the country, how will that play out in the next few hours was yellow obviously our thoughts are with him and his family, that is the most important thing. they will all be worried about this, this is a human issue as much as it is a government issue. but he will be in great hands andi issue. but he will be in great hands and i know they are taking no risks at all, they are treating him properly and fairly. but in terms of the government, we should not have any — it has been known for some considerable time that the prime minister appointed dominic raab as press secretary. he is more than capable of fulfilling this role. he has great experience in government and knows what must be done. he will be brought up to speed with all the key processes that go around the prime ministers since he became ill. they will have been planning for this just they will have been planning for thisjust in

they will have been planning for this just in case it happened. then there's all the other cabinet members, from very senior like michael gove, who will understand how this works. they all have jobs to do and nothing will change in that regard. what happens now as they will look to dominic raab for that final decision—making process whilst the prime minister is unable to ta ke whilst the prime minister is unable to take that role. but i feel com pletely to take that role. but i feel completely confident in the government, my concerns for boris johnson are political concerns. he isa johnson are political concerns. he is a good friend. we all wish him the best and a speedy recovery. should he have taken a little bit less of an active role? he was on twitter earlier today, should he have just taken time to get well? because he has had these symptoms for a number of days now, and they have worsened. his thoughts have not

been with himself, but the british people. he does not want the british people. he does not want the british people to feel in any way overly concerned and worried. he's calm, which speaks to the individual nature of himself. we should not over read the going into intensive care, i'm sure the doctors will have done this to make sure that they could stabilise him completely so they could treat whatever he may have a strong secondary infection which must be treated urgently. but i think the way he sees it is he was elected as prime minister to the government and wants to make sure the right decisions are being made. that demand now lies in the hands of dominic raab in the cabinet. they know what they need to do, there will be discussions, and they will get on with it as though boris was there, but it will be dominic raab. in the statement we've received from

number ten, it stresses that the prime minister is receiving excellent ca re prime minister is receiving excellent care and they are adding their thanks to all the nhs staff for their hard work and dedication. it just goes to for their hard work and dedication. itjust goes to show that for their hard work and dedication. it just goes to show that this for their hard work and dedication. itjust goes to show that this virus does not discriminate in terms of who the person is. and it is a difficult situation, given that so many people are experiencing symptoms. and i guess the message has to be clear — stay at home and save lives. this could not be a clear exposition of the whole point, stay home, support the nhs and stay lives. —— save lives. most people who have decided over the last few days that they just did who have decided over the last few days that theyjust did not need to think about this very much, if nothing tells them that there is a purpose to what the government and medical officers and scientific officers, in the nhs are trying to do, which is to lessen the impact of this ghastly virus, and to give everybody a fighting chance of getting through to the other side

with an economy intact. and to do that, we must do what we have been asked, which is to stay at home to make sure we cannot catch the infection, and/or give it to people, thus putting extra pressure on the nhs. and for the prime minister to come down with this and the cabinet minister, in the case of the health matt hancock, thin people should realise that anyone can get this, therefore we should take this seriously. but my thoughts most of all lie with boris. do you think that the uk was too slow in its lockdown measures? were be somewhat misguided by this idea of herd immunity, that we should have gone into this a little bit quicker? no, i think the story about herd immunity was a red herring. people misinterpreted what had been said, i think by the science adviser, which was that eventually, in all virus

outbreaks, people eventually develop an immunity which dampens down the scale of an outbreak. but that is a long time down the road. it was not a matter of policy at all, just an observation that eventually society gets to that point either through vaccinations or through infection spreading. but this was not a policy, the policy from the beginning was to stop this from spreading. and that is what the shutdown has been all about the last few weeks. there is some indication, which i wouldn't over read, that it may already be beginning to have that effect. and it is vital that we give her the opportunity to do so? thank you so much for taking the time for taking thank you so much for taking the time fortaking —— thank you so much for taking the time for taking —— to talk to us. we all wish the prime minister. to

reiterate, the prime minister boris johnson has been moved into intensive care after his symptoms for coronavirus had worsened. we have had this statement from downing street, over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary, dominic raab, the first secretary, dominic raab, the first secretary of state to deputize for him where necessary. so this is the statement that has been given to us from downing street, describing how the condition of the prime minister had worsened. he has been at st. thomas hospital since sunday evening, we were initially told he would be going in for routine tasks. this statement now says his condition has worsened and only on the advice of his medical team has he been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. let us speak to my colleague, james gallagher, who was with me now. a very

difficult situation for the united kingdom, just hearing that the prime minister is now in intensive care. but we have sir ian duncan smith saying we don't know exactly the condition that he is in. talk us through what we know and what this means, having been moved into intensive care. we know he's had symptoms, a temperature that persisted longer than normal, usually a long a week do that symptoms last. he was taken to hospital over weekend, and today he has progressed into intensive care. we know some details, we know the prime minister is still conscious, and he is not being ventilated at the moment. but in case that medical intervention is necessary, it is worth remembering that intensive ca re worth remembering that intensive care is — you can have a wider range of symptoms within intensive care, so of symptoms within intensive care, so he could just be on oxygen

support for —— or very intensive monitoring at this time. you must remember that coronavirus is a disease that largely attacks the lungs, so it starts off in many patients as a cough the majority of people recover but many people get worse, with symptoms such as shortness of breath. some patients are getting to the point where they cannot breathe enough to say a few sentences at a time before becoming com pletely sentences at a time before becoming completely breathless. that is how severe it can become with some patients. those that need more intensive support in order to make sure their lungs are still able to get enough oxygen into the rest of their body, so like other patients with coronavirus on intensive care wards will be very closely monitored to support his body is much as possible. because once again, we've said it many times, it is as true for borisjohnson as it is with other patients, there are no proven drugs at the moment that can treat

the coronavirus. so you are relying on the basics of medicine. excellent nursing and doctor led care, but not looking for a drug that will be able to change the course of the disease at the moment. james, you touched upon the oxygen, the kind of process that will happen to somebody who ends up in intensive care. can you break that down for us a little bit more? what happens when you move potentially from the ward into intensive care? what happens? potentially from the ward into intensive care? what happen57m potentially from the ward into intensive care? what happens? is not as intensive care? what happens? is not as though there is one significant moment. doctors will be assessing his condition constantly and assessing how that is changing over time. and what you will see is, with any patient whose condition worsens, at the very most basic, low level intervention, you could just be giving oxygen through the nose to increase the amount of oxygen he is breathing so his lungs get more

oxygen breathing so his lungs get more oxyg e n to breathing so his lungs get more oxygen to the rest of his body. and that skills with symptoms. we understand at the moment that the prime minister is not requiring intervention, but you can move through various scales all the way up through various scales all the way up to greater levels of intervention that culminate in more invasive procedures like ventilation which gets eve n procedures like ventilation which gets even more oxygen into the body. because that is the crucial bit here, it is about making sure that lungs are functioning well enough to keep enough oxygen in the whole of the body to keep the rest of the organs going. james, thank you so much for explaining that so clearly will stop my colleague who is with me and will continue to be with me for the next few moments. a lot of reaction coming in to this news, that prime minister borisjohnson has been moved into intensive care. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon says "my thoughts over the premise her and his family. sending him very good wishes." nato secretary—general says "my thoughts

are with my family, the uk print minister borisjohnson. are with my family, the uk print minister boris johnson. lots are with my family, the uk print minister borisjohnson. lots of strength, boris, get well soon. someone else we can talk to now is the author of borisjohnson's biographyjoining us the author of borisjohnson's biography joining us life. the author of borisjohnson's biographyjoining us life. so nick, i'm sure you're sending the good wishes to the preminger as well? absolutely, this is really shocking news “— absolutely, this is really shocking news —— sonja —— prime minister. i've heard from her husband how it is really challenging. it is really deeply shocking and i absolutely send him the very best and his family, his pregnant fiance. it must have been awful for her. of course, we must remember that borisjohnson is expecting a child. when we've seen is expecting a child. when we've seen him up and about, we saw him on thursday night, the images we are

watching now, motivating the country even just hours before, watching now, motivating the country evenjust hours before, he watching now, motivating the country even just hours before, he was on social media saying his spirits were good. this will be a devastating blow to him. of course, i was his deputy when we were in the 1990s. i never knew him to be ill. he is actually dominic he does normally have a robust constitution, and i think that some people are more prone to things,, i think he is someone prone to things,, i think he is someone who has not been very vulnerable to illness. so it shows you how pernicious, how toxic, how strong this virus is and how you have to treat it with the absolute respect and take all precautions necessary. it is a deeply shocking event there. he has wanted to be

leader of this country for so long, and now is a prime minister with a strong majority, there was so much that he wanted to do. of course we wish him the biggest recovery, but this whole global pandemic has stopped the whole world in its tracks. it is a very difficult situation for the uk and the whole world. i really think the government must be bought back i watched the coronavirus press conference earlier andi coronavirus press conference earlier and i wanted to be reassured about his condition and what was being done, i came away without knowing borisjohnson was in intensive care. they must be utterly straight with us now, utterly transparent about what's going on. we need to know much more from the government as to where we are on testing, on an exit strategy, protective equipment for

health workers but also bus drivers, certainly pharmacists. we need to feel that someone is getting a grip now because today may finally be the moment where we have to have a national government. we bring in people, a lot of its key players are out of action. we need someone, like tony blair was saying earlier, we need a minister who is irresponsible for nothing but ramping up testing. i'd written about the second world warand i'd i'd written about the second world war and i'd love to draw parallels between them. but you had a lord beaverbrook back then who was given thejob of beaverbrook back then who was given the job of boosting air production. he managed to make that happen. we need people now to be brought in to do thesejobs. boris need people now to be brought in to do these jobs. borisjohnson need people now to be brought in to do thesejobs. borisjohnson is clearly going to be out of action for some time. he probably should have been out of action sometime earlier to concentrate on getting

well. one worries that he went on working when he shouldn't have done. you cannot do that with this disease. i think i've had it myself, i've been told i'm very lucky. i realised that it was very difficult to ta ke realised that it was very difficult to take even the smallest decisions, let alone with a temperature he's had for 10—11 days, trying to take decisions, life and death decisions for the country. this is a really critical moment, we now need people with young, fresh blood to come in and get us forward now. this is an absolute matter of urgency. keir starmer, the new labour leader, or david cameron putting people with experience making government departments work, all sorts of names are being mentioned. we are at the stage where we need to do that. this

is not a normal business as usual day, we have to do something different. sonja purnell, author of boris johnson's biography, thank different. sonja purnell, author of borisjohnson's biography, thank you so borisjohnson's biography, thank you so much for speaking to me and passing on your thoughts and wishes for a speedy recovery for the print minister. also remembering all those front line workers on the nhs staff —— prime minister. everybodyjust holding the country together during this coronavirus pandemic. we can speak to the conservative politician doctor andrew morrison, who is also a doctor. hejoins us life now as well. i'm sure you also want to pass on your regards to the prime minister? i really do. boris has been working heroically over the past several days despite his deteriorating condition. he is an extraordinary man, i'm very sure he will pull through from this. it is devastating that over the course of

the day, he's deteriorated to the point where he must go to intensive care. but i don't think we should jump care. but i don't think we should jump to any conclusions. i suspect the doctors will want to monitor him closely in the ic you. and i know he's in the best of hands. of course we wish them well for a speedy recovery. absolutely critical that we reiterate, we don't know the exact condition, wejust we reiterate, we don't know the exact condition, we just know the print minister's condition has worsened and that on the advice of his... at the hospital, of course he has been suffering from these symptoms for the past ten days. when it comes to looking at the governing of this country, when it comes to the possibility that the prime ministers should have stepped away a little earlier so that he can

concentrate on his recuperation, because we saw that he was not feeling great even on thursday when that nhs climb around for the key workers, should he have perhaps focused on getting match fit? that is not the nature of the man. he is a selfless individual with a very strong sense of public service. so i do not think it would be in his nature to step back. he has been running things, albeit from his sick bed. clearly that is no longer going to be possible in the immediate term. and there is a structure in place to deal with that contingency, there always is. and that will now ta ke there always is. and that will now take effect. doctor morrison, with the messages that we are hearing across the country to stay indoors, i touched upon this already but it just goes to show that this disease does not discriminate in any way, shape orform.

does not discriminate in any way, shape or form. it does not, and i'm sure that boris would want the message to go out, particularly as we approach the easter weekend and probably some good weather. we need to stay indoors. we need to socially isolate. we need to wash our hands — all of those simple messages. we have to do those in order to prevent this virus being transmitted and in order to save lives, it is vitally important that we all do that. is the message then clear enough? are the message then clear enough? are the instructions for this lockdown clear enough? because we still people asking if they can go outside for a walk, how long can the walk be? do we need more precise measures? i know it is very difficult, many people are experiencing difficulties with no gardens, no outside space, children in the house. it is not easy, but do the guidelines need to be just that little more precise? it is very difficult, but from my own

observation, most people are using their common sense. i've been struck when i've been out on my mandated walk a day at how well people are distancing themselves. so i think the vast majority of people are doing that. but of course, we are in uncharted waters. we've not been here before. and i think people do have an element of confusion, of course they do. i must say the government advice on the website is pretty comprehensive and pretty good. he gives people most of the guidance they need on how to conduct themselves over the next several days. can i use your expertise as a doctor, then? of course we keep hearing about washing hands, but when it comes to symptoms, anything that we see, feel — is there anything we should be looking out for? the online111 anything we should be looking out for? the online 111 tools is extremely useful. it has been set up to deal with this, and i would refer

people to that. what we must not do is overburden our national health service because we need to ensure that it service because we need to ensure thatitis service because we need to ensure that it is there for those who are sickest, and also for those who have conditions apart from coronavirus. so we do need to protect the nhs as well as our own lives. it is important to stay at home, and if we do that, we will flatten the curve and protect our national health service and save lives at. doctor andrew morrison, conservative mp, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us, and also that advice. absolutely crucial with any concern, do get into such —— in touch, have a look with the nhs online services at 111, but it is

very important not to overburden them, because we have been seeing so much how hard they have been working. we saw fergus walsh's report from an intensive care unit, and it is impressive the amount of pressure are nhs staff are under at the moment. returning back to the print minister, that news that boris johnson is now in intensive care after that statement that his condition had worsened desperate minister. he was admitted to hospital sunday evening to undergo what was described as routine tests. lots of messages for the prime minister. here in the uk, nicola sturgeon saying... she is sending him very good wishes. the british chancellor says... it is important

to mention that the prime minister's partner is pregnant. saja javid tweets... —— saja javid. there are an awful lot of messages of support for the print minister on social media. and of course, his partner who is pregnant. crossing over to westminster, chris masonjoins who is pregnant. crossing over to westminster, chris mason joins us now. of course the details just developing, we are only hearing this within the past hour or so. we know that his condition has worsened but we don't know more details than that. we don't, a statement from downing street about 40 minutes ago said that around 7pm this evening, a couple hours ago, mrjohnson was moved from where he was within st. thomas as hospital in central london to the intensive care unit. the

statement flushes out that the reason for that was that he needed to be in that unit as a precaution should he require ventilation to aid his recovery. we are told that the prime minister is currently conscious. the very fact that downing street have had to spell that out gives you some sense of the scale of concern about his condition at the moment, and the extent to which he is deteriorated. when he was admitted around 24 hours ago, we we re was admitted around 24 hours ago, we were told repeatedly by his office that that was because of the persistence of the symptoms he had been suffering with for some time. in other words, the high temperature and a persistent cough, rather than the development of any additional symptoms. and whilst it is not crystal clear in this statement tonight that he is definitely already developed other symptoms, clearly there must be a concern about his breathing. if they want to aid his breathing if that becomes

necessary , aid his breathing if that becomes necessary, they acknowledge in the statement that his condition worsened this afternoon, in their words, he was moved to the intensive ca re words, he was moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. prior to that happening, he did speak to the foreign secretary, dominic raab, the first secretary of state, the defective deputy to boris johnson, asking him to deputize where necessary. so he leaves open the option there that if he is able to continue to make some decisions or be involved somehow in the business of running the government, then he would want to be as prime minister, but clearly dominic raab now being tasked with the day—to—day business of running the government whilst mr johnson is in intensive care, which isa johnson is in intensive care, which is a very significant development from with the government was saying just a matter of 3—4 hours ago at their now daily briefing which was led by dominic raab, who was at pains to point out regularly when he

was asked repeatedly about the prospect of him assuming the mantle for a period of time, that no, boris johnson remained fully in charge. clearly tonight, that is no longer quite the case. during that daily briefing that we heard earlier on today, we did hear dominic raab say that he had not been touched or had not directly spoken to the prime ministers since saturday. and that raised a few eyebrows, given how much the government has been saying that the private is or is in charge. even this morning on social media he was saying his spirits were up —— prime minister. the vision was that he was very much in charge but they had not been in touch and saturday. that caught my eye in the news briefing early on that he had somebody who is the first secretary of state, and he had a prime minister who at the time was saying that he was in regular touch with his ministers and officials. yet he had not spoken to his most senior

minister in dominic raab since saturday, which was a full 24 hours at least prior to which mrjohnson was admitted to hospital. one could imagine that ms. if mrjohnson up until this evening was able to carry on doing reasonable amounts of work, perhaps he would not speak to every particular ministerjust because he had not spoken to mr rob did not mean he had not spoken to others. but that rose eyebrows of reporters reporting at that news conference, because on the face of it, the obvious point of contact is that mr johnson may have had had he seen fit from hospital prior to this moment when he was moved to intensive care. when it comes to the running of the government, of course dominic raab now will be in charge of this coronavirus response that is taking place across the uk. so we can expect business as usual, we can expect business as usual, we can expect the continuous daily updates that we have got used to getting over the past weeks?”

that we have got used to getting over the past weeks? i think so. clearly this is a significant escalation in terms of the prime minister and the premonition or ‘s health and capacity to do his job. —— prime minister. whilst we know he's been continuing to work, his capacity has been limited from the symptoms and he's been in self isolation. that has involved an adjustment to his work, we've not seen adjustment to his work, we've not seen them do the news conference in that period of time. we've known that period of time. we've known that several key figures who are pa rt that several key figures who are part of the core duty to in terms of the national response to this coronavirus crisis help themselves either been diagnosed with it or had to self—isolate as a result of symptoms themselves are within their family. chris whitty, the government's chief medical adviser has only just returned government's chief medical adviser has onlyjust returned to work out and about in public away from his

home. today, matt hancock was in self isolation, he himself testing positive whilst away from whitehall and westminster for the period positive whilst away from whitehall and westminsterfor the period of the week. dominic cummings, the prime minister's chief adviser has beenin prime minister's chief adviser has been in self isolation, so have a number of other senior advisers as well. i think what is quite striking is that the coronavirus has had the capacity to cripple our economy, to rob us of so many liberties, but also to weaken the response of those charged with representing us all in terms of the national fight back against it. that clearly has been magnified tonight with the prime minister's admission to intensive care. it is certainly not discriminating when it comes to those people who suffer from or get the symptoms for