I Can't Thank Them Enough ... I Owe Them My Life

As British virus death toll nears 10,000, including at least 19 NHS staff, PM pays tribute to medical heroes

- David Maddox Political Editor

Boris Johnson has paid a heartfelt tribute to the NHS staff who looked after him in intensive care, saying: “I can’t thank them enough, I owe them my life.”

Friends said the Prime Minister was “euphoric” after starting his recovery from coronavirus – and told them the care he received had been “exemplary”.

One senior official said: “It was terrifying how fast things happened. When he was finally moved out of intensive care it was such a massive lift – you could feel everyone, including the whole of No10, breathe a collective sigh of relief.”

As he continued his recovery yesterday at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, it was revealed that a further 917 people had died from the virus in hospitals in Britain.

The latest daily toll – slightly lower than Friday’s record 980 – brings the total to 9,875, including at least 19 NHS workers. There have been 78,991 recorded cases of the disease.

Among the latest to die was a child aged 11, one of the youngest victims of the pandemic.

In the midst of national mourning, the Queen issued her first ever Easter message, saying: “We know that coronavirus will not overcome us. As dark as death can be – particularly for those suffering with grief – light and life are greater.”

Meanwhile, an official Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Johnson, 55, “continued to make good progress”.