British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is getting the best possible medical care and does not need overseas help, according to a spokesman responding to President Trump’s offer of aid.
He said Johnson was in stable condition after spending a night in an intensive care ward and was not using a ventilator to breathe.
Johnson was admitted to a London hospital on Sunday after he still showed symptoms nearly two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
His rapid deterioration shocked many Britons and brought a flood of warm wishes, including the offer from Trump of help. The president said he had spoken to pharmaceutical and biotech executives, two of whom were ready to work with Johnson’s doctors on treatment.
But a No. 10 Downing St. spokesman said: “On this specific point … we’re confident the prime minister is receiving the best possible care from the National Health Service. Any treatment he receives is a matter for his doctors.”
The spokesman added that the move to intensive care had been a precautionary measure. “The Prime Minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits,” he said. “He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance. He has not required mechanical ventilation or noninvasive respiratory support.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will stand in for the prime minister “whenever necessary,” such as leading coronavirus crisis meetings, but the weekly calls with the queen have been suspended while Johnson is indisposed.
The spokesman added that Johnson had not been able to speak to Raab since being admitted to St Thomas’s Hospital.
A day earlier, Trump said Americans were praying for Johnson’s recovery and that U.S. pharmaceutical companies were ready to help.
“We have contacted all of Boris’s doctors, and we will see what is going to take place. But they are ready to go,” he said.
“But when you get brought into intensive care, that gets very, very serious with this particular disease.”
