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Boris Johnson's father Stanley speaks of 'relief' and warns Britons to take coronavirus seriously as PM is moved out of intensive care

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Boris Johnson's father has said he feels a huge sense of "relief" that the Prime Minister has moved out of intensive care as he warned Britons to take coronavirus seriously and "play the game properly".

Stanley Johnson said the whole family was "tremendously grateful" at news of Mr Johnson's health update and said they were "amazingly thankful for the tremendous outpouring of support".

He added that the PM's admission to St Thomas' Hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus - which included three nights in intensive care - had "served a purpose" by showing it can hit anyone, reiterating the seriousness of the pandemic.

"To use that American expression, he almost took one for the team. We have got to make sure we play the game properly now,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He said Mr Johnson was still on the road to recovery but that he would still need a period of rest before going back to work.

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​“This is pretty straightforward now. He must rest up. As I understand it, he has moved from the ICU into a recovery unit but I don’t think you can say this is out of the wood now,” he said.

“He has to take time. I cannot believe you can walk away from this and get straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”

Quoting a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet - "for this relief much thanks" - he added: "He's a man with enormous energy and enormous vitality."

Mr Johnson was admitted to hospital on Sunday, some ten days after testing positive for Covid-19.

Police stand guard outside St Thomas' Hospital, where Mr Johnson remains (PA)
Police stand guard outside St Thomas' Hospital, where Mr Johnson remains (PA)

On Monday, he was moved to intensive care. He was not put on a ventilator, Downing Street said.

On Thursday evening, Mr Johnson was moved out of intensive care but remains in hospital.

Mr Johnson Senior’s comments are likely to be taken as a further indication that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will continue to deputise for the PM in the coming days.

As well as his position as Foreign Secretary, Mr Raab is First Secretary of State and it was in this role that the Prime Minister asked him to stand in for him after his symptoms worsened on Monday afternoon .

In addition to leading the Government’s daily coronavirus “war cabinet” sessions, Mr Raab will also chair any necessary meetings of the National Security Council in Mr Johnson’s stead, it has previously been confirmed.