Johnson says he owes medics his life as UK death toll keep soaring

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he owed his life to hospital staff, in his first comments since leaving intensive care for coronavirus treatment, while his government came under increasing pressure to explain why the death toll was rising.

Britain has reported two days in a row of hospital deaths increasing by more than 900 people.

Friday’s death toll of 980 surpassed the highest recorded in a single day in Italy, the hardest hit country in Europe so far.

Johnson, 55, was taken to St Thomas’s Hospital in central London on April 5, suffering from persistent symptoms of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. On April 6 he was moved into intensive care, where he remained until April 9.

“I can’t thank them enough. I owe them my life,” Johnson said of the staff of Britain’s state-run National Health Service at the hospital, in his first comments since being moved back to a regular ward. The comments were released to journalists and confirmed by his office on Sunday.