British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on his way to recover from the emerging corona virus and being transferred to another hospital ward Friday, after three days spent in the intensive care unit, at a time when Britain recorded for the first time nearly a thousand deaths due to The deadly virus.
The 55-year-old exited the intensive care unit at St Thomas´ Hospital in London on Thursday evening, and will be closely monitored during what his office described as "the first stage of his recovery".
"The prime minister is able to walk short distances between rest times as part of the care he receives to help him recover," said his spokesman at 10 Downing Street.
"His (Johnson´s) morale is very high," said the spokesman.
News of Johnson´s improvement contrasts with the latest official figures that showed that newborn Corona virus deaths reached 980 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the outbreak.
This brought the total death toll to nearly eight thousand deaths, while the number of confirmed sick cases in the country jumped to about 74 thousand cases.
It is believed that the figures reflect part of the actual number of injuries.
Despite the pessimistic figures, there were indications that the stringent social divergence measures that had begun to be applied on 23 March, may be beginning to show positive results.
"We are beginning to see the benefits of this social distancing," said Stephen Boyce, medical director at Britain´s national government health care services.
"We really believe that this virus is spreading at a lower frequency," he told the BBC.
But Boyce stressed that it was "very important" that citizens continue to adhere to the guidelines for social separation during the long Easter holiday, amid forecasts of good weather.
"It is still too early to be confident that we are about to overcome the crisis," he said.
"We must take full and complete care to comply with all instructions issued to us," he added.
The government urged citizens to stay indoors during the Easter holiday.
Johnson is the highest-ranking government official infected with the emerging coronavirus.
He was hospitalized on Sunday, amid concerns about his continuing cough and fever after 10 days in self-isolation in an apartment above his Downing Street office.
In intensive care, the conservative prime minister received "regular oxygen therapy" and did not require an artificial respiration.
But his transfer to the hospital in an unprecedented step related to a prime minister during a national emergency in contemporary history, shook Britain and caused shock around the world.
US President Donald Trump described Johnson´s exit from the intensive care unit as "a very positive development."
His father, Stanley Johnson, said he should now "rest", after last week he continued working during the period of self-isolation.
"He must take his time," his father told BBC Radio.
"I don´t think anyone can get out of this and return immediately to Downing Street and take over without an adjustment period," he added.
Foreign Minister Dominic Rapp is acting on behalf of the Prime Minister in his absence.
Rap chaired an emergency meeting that brought together the most prominent ministers on Friday, to discuss an official review of the isolation measures for the next week.
The measures, imposed mainly for three weeks, are expected to continue until the end of the month, at least.
It seems the procedures are working better than expected, said professor at Imperial College Neil Ferguson, who is also one of the government’s consultants on the emerging corona virus.
But he cautioned that more evidence of a pandemic was needed, before commencing the procedures.
"There is some initial evidence ... of a greater retreat in normal behavior and mixing, than we had hoped for," he told BBC Radio.
"It is good news, but we have yet to see this reflected in the declining number of cases," he added.
