Boris Johnson ‘comfortable’ as No 10 refuses to say whether he has been given oxygen while in hospital

Downing Street has refused to say if Boris Johnson required oxygen treatment after being taken to hospital, but has described his condition as “comfortable”.

In the first update since the prime minister was admitted, his spokesman said he was “in good spirits” and receiving official documents in his red box to his bedside – underlining his determination to stay in charge.

However, No 10 dropped the description of Mr Johnson’s coronavirus symptoms as “mild”, calling his high temperature and cough “persistent” – revealing that Tuesday’s cabinet meeting had been cancelled.

And his spokesman declined to say if it was correct that Mr Johnson had received oxygen, to help with his breathing, saying only: “I don’t know the origins of those reports.”

Asked whether he might remain in London’s St Thomas’ Hospital for another night, or longer, he said: “That would entirely be a matter for doctors.”

The update came as No 10 played down hopes of an early easing of the lockdown, saying: “What we absolutely have to do is to continue to bear down on this infection, to stop its spread.”

The exit strategy would be set out “at the appropriate time”, but only when the peak of feared deaths was passed – a point expected to be reached in the next 10 days.

The spokesman revealed that more than 16,000 virus tests were carried out on Sunday, but only around 1,000 on NHS staff and their families at the new drive-through sites.

And he hinted there would only be around 11,000 ventilators ready by the weekend – far short of the 30,000 once thought to be needed – but the spokesman insisted: “There will be enough ventilators to meet demand.”

Mr Johnson was taken to hospital around 8pm on Sunday for what Downing Street calls “precautionary tests”, a full 10 days after announcing he had contracted the virus.

There is pressure, including from a government minister, for him to rest and hand over power temporarily to Dominic Raab if necessary – but the spokesman insisted: “The prime minister remains in charge of the government.”

Asked if his red box would be wiped down and disinfected, he said: “We follow the advice of medics in terms of making sure there is no risk.”

No 10 also insisted, in the strongest terms yet, that Brexit would still be completed at the end of the year – despite growing pressure to extend the transition period, amid the chaos.

Insisting talks were carrying out remotely, with legal texts exchanged, the spokesman said: “‘We remain absolutely committed to continuing the negotiations.”

On Mr Johnson’s condition, he said: “The prime minister had a comfortable night at St Thomas' Hospital in London and is in good spirits. He remains in hospital under observation.”

There would be no ongoing “commentary” on his treatment, he added, but the public would be informed of any change.

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