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UK Prime Minister fights virus in intensive care, remains in ‘stable condition’

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care fighting the coronavirus. Yahoo Finance’s Edmund Heaphy joins the On The Move panel to discuss.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: But we also want to talk about politics overseas. And we're going to head to Edmund Heaphy, because Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, is in the ICU. And the question becomes, if God forbid something happens to him, what next for politics in the UK? Edmund?

EDMUND HEAPHY: Yes, Adam. The Prime Minister's office gave an update a few hours ago to say that Boris Johnson's condition was stable overnight, and that he is in good spirits. Most crucially, Downing Street said that Johnson was not on a ventilator, and has not needed respiratory support so far. A spokesperson said that Johnson also does not have pneumonia, and that he was receiving standard oxygen treatment.

It's the only update we've had on the Prime Minister's health since he was admitted to intensive care at 7:00 PM local time yesterday due to, as you said, worsening coronavirus symptoms. Doctors and experts have said that this is all pretty good news, however. Particularly the fact that Johnson does not need mechanical breathing support, this suggests that his condition has not reached a particularly serious stage thus far.

Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, said that the Queen had sent a message to Johnson's family and his pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds, to say that she was thinking of them, and that she wished the Prime Minister a full and speedy recovery. But obviously, Adam, as you suggest, it's hard to overstate how shocking this news has been, and how much it has jolted Britain over the past 24 hours. It was already pretty scary to have a Prime Minister admitted to hospital in the midst of and on [INAUDIBLE] the crisis. He went into intensive care.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been deputizing for him in his absence. There has been some confusion about who exactly is in charge, and how decisions are being made at the highest levels of government. But Raab said earlier that there was an incredibly strong team spirit behind the Prime Minister, and that the government was working hard to implement the plans that Johnson had outlined before he was admitted to hospital as soon as possible.

And then we got some news about another key minister, Michael Gove. He said that today he was self-isolating after a member of his family started to display coronavirus symptoms. So a lot of turmoil in Johnson's cabinet.

The pound, which has been pretty sensitive to Boris Johnson's health-related developments, is up now around not 0.75% against the US dollar.

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