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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from a London hospital where he was treated in intensive care for COVID-19.
Key points:
- Boris Johnson was the first world leader of a major power confirmed to have coronavirus
- He spent three nights in intensive care after his condition "worsened"
- Mr Johnson will not be immediately returning to work and will continue his recover in Buckinghamshire
Mr Johnson was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital on April 5 with a persistent fever and cough and was moved to intensive care two days later after his conditions "worsened".
His condition stabilised after he spent three nights in ICU.
Mr Johnson released a video on Twitter shortly after his release from hospital, saying it was "hard to find words to express my debt".
"I want to pay my own thanks to the utterly brilliant doctors, leaders in their fields … who took some crucial decisions a few days ago for which I will be grateful for the rest of my life," Mr Johnson said.
"I want to thank the many nurses, men and women, whose care has been so astonishing."
He thanked by name several nurses who had helped him, singling out two in particular who "stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way".
"They are Jenny from New Zealand, Invercargill on the South Island to be exact, and Luis from Portugal, near Porto," Mr Johnson said.
"And the reason my body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night they were watching and they were thinking and caring and making the interventions I needed."
Mr Johnson also thanked the UK public for abiding by social distancing measures and credited the "country's greatest national asset", the National Health Service.
A spokesman said Mr Johnson would not be returning to work straight away but would continue his recovery at Chequers, the country house of the British prime minister in Buckinghamshire.
"On the advice of his medical team, the PM will not be immediately returning to work. He wishes to thank everybody at St Thomas' for the brilliant care he has received," the spokesman said.
"All of his thoughts are with those affected by this illness."
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Earlier, Mr Johnson said he owed his life to the National Health Service (NHS) staff who treated him.
"I can't thank them enough," Johnson said in his first public statement since he was moved out of intensive care.
"I owe them my life."
Mr Johnson's father, Stanley, said on Friday the Prime Minister would need to take his time with his recovery.
"He must rest up," he told BBC radio.
"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."
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has deputised for Mr Johnson since the Prime Minister was admitted to intensive care.
Your questions on coronavirus answered:
Mr Johnson, 55, became the first world leader of a major power confirmed to have the illness, which has killed close to 10,000 people in the UK.
Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds also thanked the NHS workers.
"I will never, ever be able to repay you and I will never stop thanking you," she wrote on Twitter.
"There were times last week that were very dark indeed. My heart goes out to all those in similar situations, worried sick about their loved ones."
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Topics: covid-19, diseases-and-disorders, respiratory-diseases, infectious-diseases-other, government-and-politics, world-politics, united-kingdom
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