A Feverish Boris Johnson Will Continue To Isolate As COVID-19 Symptoms Worsen

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not look good.

In a short video posted to twitter, the British Prime Minister urged Britons to stay at home, lauding those who have obeyed the national lockdown orders for “saving lives.”

Another quick update from me on our campaign against #coronavirus.

You are saving lives by staying at home, so I urge you to stick with it this weekend, even if we do have some fine weather.#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/4GHmJhxXQ0

— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 3, 2020

But with UK and European stocks already in the red, the video did nothing to lift investor confidence, as Johnson, pale as a sheet and shiny with sweat, appears to be extremely ill.

For a virus that has infected the rich and powerful as much as the poorest of the poor, Johnson is one of dozens of public officials, including dozens in Iran and a handful in Brazil, who have contracted the virus. At least three US lawmakers have also contracted the virus.

Johnson’s condition has reportedly grown so grave, that there are rumors about him temporarily ceding power to Michael Gove, who, like Johnson, started his career as a journalist in the British press. Gove also lost to Gove and May during two Tory leadership contests. But he remains a member of the cabinet and one of the most visible and trusted conservatives in the UK.

I’m hearing more and more about Gove being lined up to take over from an ‘ill’ Johnson and what a result that will be. One unscrupulous chancer journalist with rich pals replaced by another one.

— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) April 3, 2020

As if this wasn’t enough, Johnson has been under assault by the British press, who have been attacking everything from his reluctance to take heavy handed measures early in the crisis, to the continuing shortage of COVID-19 tests for frontline medical workers, an issue that has become a huge scandal for his government, as CNBC explains.