Coronavirus: UK PM tests positive as global cases surpass half a million, deaths 25,000

The news came at the end of a six-day period in which the world diagnosed as many new Covid-19 cases as had been confirmed in the previous 80 days

It followed China banning most foreigners from entering the country and Trump saying he wanted to ‘open up’ some of the US despite soaring cases

Reading Time:11 minutes

A medical worker helps a woman wearing a protective mask at a testing centre in Paris on Friday. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:37am, 27 Mar 2020Updated: 2:40am, 28 Mar 2020

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have both tested positive for the coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases globally surpassed half a million with more than 25,000 deaths and the global economy entered recession, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Johnson said in a video message on Twitter he developed mild symptoms and was tested for the virus on the advice of England’s chief medical officer, adding that he was now leading the “fight back against coronavirus” from self-isolation at 10 Downing Street in London.

Hancock, the health secretary, later made a similar announcement on his own Twitter account.

Johnson last met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on March 11 and she remains in good health, Buckingham Palace said in a statement in response to the news.

The news came at the end of a six-day period in which the world diagnosed as many new Covid-19 cases as had been confirmed in the previous 80 days.

Spain on Friday reported 769 deaths from the virus in one day and Indonesia confirmed the country’s biggest daily rise in infections so far, making it the second country in Southeast Asia to surpass 1,000 infections after Malaysia, that hardest-hit country in the region, where 2,161 people are confirmed to have contracted coronavirus and 26 have died.

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