British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus
Summary
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced Friday, becoming the world’s highest-profile political leader to reveal an infection. “Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus,” Johnson said in a video accompanying his tweet. As the tally of cases and deaths spiked in continental Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, Johnson appeared to advise Britons to go about their lives as usual — in part to actually allow infections to happen and, in theory, a “herd immunity” to develop. Similar warnings have also been sounded about the lack of protective gear for medical workers and possibly an unbearable strain on Britain’s cherished NHS, the National Health Service. Earlier on Thursday evening, the prime minister and Prince Charles joined residents across the country who stood at doors and windows to applaud and bang pots and pans in a coordinated show of support for the NHS.