UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hospitalized with virus

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: CBS

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to a hospital with the coronavirus.

Johnson’s office says he is being admitted for tests because he still has symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

Downing St. said Sunday the hospitalization is a “precautionary step” and he remains in charge of the government.

Johnson, 55, has been quarantined in his Downing St. residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26.

Read more: https://www.news10.com/news/uk-prime-minister-boris-johnson-hospitalized-with-virus/

[hlthe2b]

1. I'm no Boris fan, but what gives, Mother Nature when our sadistic unfunny joke for a President

has continually exposed himself and others over the past months, yet appears to remain as healthy as someone that behaves like him can be? (long run-on sentence, but you get my drift)

[Steelrolled]

17. We don't know what goes on in private with Pres Trump

Trump might be acting carefree for the cameras. According to Joe Biden, the Secret Service have been extremely diligent with him.

[ananda]

2. Well, he did say he wanted to "cull the herd."

I guess he's walking the walk.

[deurbano]

4. They never think they will be the culled ones.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Just saw a CNN breaking

That virus ain't nothing to play with and he was already in the higher risk age range for contracting it (mid-50s).

[Igel]

15. But it's not a huge risk.

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/23/21190033/coronavirus-covid-19-deaths-by-age

•For people 45 to 54, the CDC reports 21.2 percent have been hospitalized, 5.4 percent were put in the ICU, and 0.5 percent have died. For people 55 to 64, 20.5 percent have been hospitalized, 4.7 percent ended up in the ICU, and 1.4 percent died. For the oldest folks in this group, ages 65 to 74, hospitalizations (28.6 percent), ICU stays (8.1 percent) and deaths (2.7 percent) continue to trend upward.

I'm 61, which means I probably have a bit less than 1 in 5 chance of being hospitalized, 1 in 20 of being in the ICU, and less than 1 in 50 chance of dying. If I were infected and showing symptoms to the point where I'd be tested.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. Anything greater than 1% is a risk and is relative to the overall population

Here in PA, the stats reported were these (as of 4/5/20) -

​Positive Cases by Age Range to Date

Age Range ​Percent of Cases
​0-4 ​< 1%
​5-12 ​< 1%
​13-18 ​1%
​19-24 8%
​25-49 ​42%
​50-64 ​29%
​65+ ​20%

https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Cases.aspx

Basically, the 29% in the above 50 - 64 age group is higher than the % of positives found for the oldest populations, and doesn't bode well for a potential outcome, just due to having a higher incidence of contracting the virus. And who knows what this virus will do to the body in later years. Look at varicella (chicken pox) and Epstein-barr (mono) for example, two that remain in the body for life and can activate at any time and wreak havoc.

Of course all of this data is based on people who were actually tested and at least here in PA (and probably most other states) the tested population was strictly narrowed to those who showed symptoms and/or were healthcare workers/first responders.

You also have the danger of having had (or currently having) hospitalizations with no conclusive cause determined (due to no test kits available), other than some blanket pronouncement of "pneumonia". The NYT even has an article about that today -

Official counts Understate the U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll

By Sarah Kliff and Julie Bosman

April 5, 2020
Updated 4:00 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — A coroner in Indiana wanted to know if the coronavirus had killed a man in early March, but said that her health department denied a test. Paramedics in New York City say that many patients who died at home were never tested for the coronavirus, even if they showed telltale signs of infection.

In Virginia, a funeral director prepared the remains of three people after health workers cautioned her that they each had tested positive for the coronavirus. But only one of the three had the virus noted on the death certificate. Across the United States, even as coronavirus deaths are being recorded in terrifying numbers — many hundreds each day — the true death toll is likely much higher.

More than 9,400 people with the coronavirus have been reported to have died in this country as of this weekend, but hospital officials, doctors, public health experts and medical examiners say that official counts have failed to capture the true number of Americans dying in this pandemic. The undercount is a result of inconsistent protocols, limited resources and a patchwork of decision-making from one state or county to the next.

In many rural areas, coroners say they don’t have the tests they need to detect the disease. Doctors now believe that some deaths in February and early March, before the coronavirus reached epidemic levels in the United States, were likely misidentified as influenza or only described as pneumonia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/us/coronavirus-deaths-undercount.html

So the real numbers are really unknown at this point and we'll have to wait to see what data might come out with those who are positive but asymptomatic and whether that was viral load dependent or what, and whether anyone can go back and retest some of the "inconclusives".

[CountAllVotes]

5. Get well soon Boris Johnson

And yes sir, I mean that for YOU!

[rockfordfile]

10. No

[ret5hd]

6. Maybe the EU can send him a ventilator!!!

[logme]

7. I would not worry to much about it

The reason given for his hospitalization makes sense. A PM is not a "regular patient" and it would be reasonable for the authorities to be extra cautious, it does not mean he is particularly at risk.

That being said, they probably would not give any information if there was actually any specific risk or issue.
Cynics might even see it as a "convenient move" that may garner some sympathy for the PM when he will is released next week. It might help shielding him from further critics regarding his shambling response at the start of the crisis, especially when the death toll start to increase.

[spinbaby]

19. If it were just a precaution or routine testing...

...wouldn’t they wait until Monday?

[Traildogbob]

8. Haaaaaaaaaaa!

Sorry, that slipped out. It really makes me somber........so somber.🤭

[Absolute Kelvin]

9. Brits have All the Luck

Hey COVID, over here!

[The King of Prussia]

16. You think?

You should see the wankers that are next in line if he goes down.

[Raven123]

11. Wonder if the average citizen is admitted as a precaution

[totodeinhere]

20. Probably not, but as the head of the UK government I think it's reasonable the extra precautions

be taken with him.

[reACTIONary]

23. Especially given the wankers....

... next in line to take over...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2463976

For us, it would be Pence. A wanker, yes, but better than MF45? I don't know.

[Polybius]

12. Get well soon

Hope he can make a full recovery.

[Steelrolled]

18. +1

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. He's only 55?!

I’m about that age, yet he looks much older than me.

Obesity is another health risk for this virus.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html

[deurbano]

14. Reuters Headline on March 3-- UK PM Johnson: "Coronavirus will not stop me shaking hands"

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-handshake/uk-pm-johnson-coronavirus-will-not-stop-me-shaking-hands-idUSKBN20Q1IO

<<LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that coronavirus would not stop him greeting people with a handshake, adding that he had shaken the hands of everyone at a hospital where infected patients were being treated....

France recommended last week that people do not shake hands to prevent the spread of the virus, while Switzerland has said its residents should consider dropping the everyday greeting of kissing each other on the cheek.

Johnson however, exhibited no such caution. “I’m shaking hands,” Johnson said when asked how he planned to handle visiting dignitaries.

“I was at a hospital the other night where I think a few there were actually coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.

He said people were free to make up their own minds, but referred to the scientific advice he had received: “Our judgment is washing your hands is the crucial thing.”>>

[Evolve Dammit]

22. Hope the stupid SOB doesn't die, but he was sure minimizing it, as 45 continues to do.