On this Easter Sunday April 12, Boris Johnson left the hospital, weak but out of business. However, the UK has also passed the 10,000 hospital death mark by far since the start of the pandemic. Good news, and very bad news: the British media was torn between relief and dread. With between 700 and 900 daily coronavirus-related deaths in the past week, the country is following a trajectory now modeled on that of Italy or Spain.
After spending three nights in intensive care, the 55-year-old British Prime Minister overcame the illness and was released from St Thomas Hospital, south London, where he was admitted to the emergency room on Sunday. If the conservative media were delighted that for the past two days Mr. Johnson had had the confidence to play sudoku and watch movies, "On the advice of his doctors, he will not immediately return to work"said a spokesman for Downing Street. He will go to rest at Checkers, in Buckinghamshire.
In an astonishing five-minute video posted to YouTube on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Johnson, in a tie suit but tired looks and shortness of breath, delivered strong praise for the NHS, the sacrosanct British hospital system, "Beating heart of this country". He also thanked "Po Ling, Shannon, Emily, Angel, Connie, Becky, Rachael, Nicky and Ann", nurses and doctors who cared for him during his week in St Thomas. And especially "Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal", the two caregivers who watched over him for forty-eight hours "When everything could have changed" for him.
Dominic Raab, First Secretary of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs, will continue to play the substitutes in the coming days. "Mr. Johnson would like to thank everyone in St Thomas for the brilliant care he has received. All his thoughts are with those affected by the disease ”added his spokesperson.
The massacre continues
And in fact, the massacre continues, at alarming levels: 917 deaths from the coronavirus Saturday April 11, 980 April 10, 887 April 9, 936 April 8 … The number of deaths due to the virus has doubled in less than 'one week. And Sunday, with 737 dead additional hours recorded in 24 hours, the total has risen to 10,612 since the start of the pandemic.
