UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to intensive care as coronavirus symptoms worsen
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in hospital due to persistent coronavirus symptoms, has been shifted to the intensive care unit after his coronavirus symptoms "worsened", Downing Street has said.
Johnson, 55, asked UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him as he was moved on Monday to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St Thomas' Hospital in London, a move Downing Street said was a precaution should he require ventilation to aid his recovery.
Over the course of this afternoon (Monday), the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the ICU at the hospital, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The Prime Minister has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary," the spokesperson said.
Raab, speaking after taking temporary charge, said the team spirit within the government would be focussed on taking Johnson's plans to defeat the pandemic forward.
The minister said: The government's business will continue. The Prime Minister is in safe hands with that brilliant team at St Thomas' hospital, and the focus of the government will continue to be on making sure that the Prime Minister's direction, all the plans for making sure that we can defeat coronavirus and can pull the country through this challenge, will be taken forward".
"There's an incredibly strong team spirit behind the Prime Minister, and making sure that we get all of the plans the Prime Minister's instructed us to deliver, to get them implemented as soon as possible. And that's the way it will bring the whole country through the coronavirus challenge that we face right now, the minister said.
Downing Street said Johnson remains conscious and is receiving excellent care , for which he thanks all National Health Service (NHS) staff for their hard work and dedication.
Queen Elizabeth II has been kept informed about Johnson's health by No 10, according to Buckingham Palace.
According to the BBC, Johnson was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to intensive care. However, he has not been put on a ventilator.
Earlier in the day on Monday, Johnson had messaged from his hospital bed to say that he was in good spirits and staying in contact with his ministers to oversee the UK's coronavirus fightback despite his hospitalisation on Sunday night due to persistent COVID-19 symptoms.
He was last seen in public applauding the NHS and other key workers just outside his flat in Downing Street last Thursday and posted his last Twitter video message on Friday in which he said he was still displaying minor symptoms.
"I still have a temperature. So in accordance with government advice I must continue my self-isolation until that symptom itself goes. But we're working clearly the whole time on our programme to beat the virus," he said.
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Gold worth Rs 4.35 cr seized at IGI Airport in two smuggling cases; three arrested
New Delhi (PTI): Customs officers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport have busted two separate gold smuggling attempts, seizing a total of over 3.17 kilograms of gold worth about Rs 4.35 crore and arresting three foreign nationals, officials said on Monday.
In the first instance, Customs registered a case of smuggling on February 26 against a 39-year-old Chadian woman who arrived from Addis Ababa a day before, an official statement said.
Acting on specific profiling and surveillance, officers intercepted the passenger for a detailed examination.
During the search, gold articles of high purity weighing 1,843 grams were recovered from her baggage. The seized gold was assessed at a tariff value of Rs 2.37 crore, officials said.
The passenger admitted that the gold had been smuggled into India without payment of duty, officials said, adding that the recovery was made after she confessed the concealment was done "to evade Customs detection and payment of applicable duty".
The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, and the woman was placed under arrest under Section 104 of the Act for her alleged role in smuggling.
In a separate incident, Airport Customs Preventive officers booked two Myanmar nationals in a gold smuggling case on February 23. The duo had arrived from Yangon, another statement said.
The passengers were intercepted while crossing the green channel at the international arrival hall of Terminal-3.
On thorough personal search and baggage examination, the two men admitted that they had concealed gold bars inside their rectum.
"Further, four gold bars were ejected by each of the passengers," the Customs statement said, adding that eight rectangular gold bars were recovered.
The total net weight of the recovered gold was 1,329 grams, which was appraised at a tariff value of Rs 1.98 crore.
Both passengers were arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962 for their involvement in the offence of smuggling, officials added.
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