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Medicine United Kingdom

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Taken To Intensive Care For Coronavirus Treatment (bloomberg.com) 405

Boris Johnson has been taken into the hospital intensive care unit for treatment for coronavirus after his condition worsened, his office said. The Guardian reports: The British prime minister was admitted to St Thomas's Hospital in London on Sunday night because his virus symptoms had not cleared up and he became more seriously ill on Monday afternoon, a government spokesperson said in an email. "Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital," according to the statement. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will stand in for Johnson running the country, "where necessary." Mr. Johnson was confirmed to have coronavirus last Thursday, becoming the first Western leader known to have contracted the disease. On Sunday evening, Johnson was admitted to the hospital as a "precautionary step," according to his Downing Street Office.
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Taken To Intensive Care For Coronavirus Treatment

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  • OK, I admit, I lost the plot.

    This was reported by the Russians overnight

    Only a couple of hours ago Raab stood in front of the cameras and claimed it is a Russian disinformation operation.

    So, who is disinforming and who is informing in this case. Are the Russians disinforming or it is Raab?

    I tried to disentangle which is the original source of the story, but everyone points a finger at the other. Russians mention AFP. AFP mentions Russians. UK press mentions all of them in a disinformation context.

    • Depends on when it was said, If it wa said yesterday, it was fake even though it is true today. He was only moved to intensive care a few hours ago. So the Russian report if given last night was fake if they had claimed it already happened.

      • Depends on when it was said, If it wa said yesterday, it was fake even though it is true today. He was only moved to intensive care a few hours ago. So the Russian report if given last night was fake if they had claimed it already happened.

        Or they are drip feeding us the bad news.

        • by AK Marc ( 707885 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @06:04PM (#59915066)
          If he dies, preparing us for it makes no difference. So lying about it to make it sound less serious is the best course of action. If they were lying, it's Boris's administration lying, and he's dead anyway. If he recovers, then it was never that serious, and the lie will not be uncovered.

          When they moved him to the hospital for observation for his cough, it was obvious he was in serious trouble. They lied about it and he ended up in the ICU. For Coronavirus, if you make it to the ICU, the odds are not in your favor.

          They can't lie about his death, but up to then, expect lies on both sides.
      • by mobby_6kl ( 668092 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:04PM (#59914568)

        Depends on when it was said, If it wa said yesterday, it was fake even though it is true today. He was only moved to intensive care a few hours ago. So the Russian report if given last night was fake if they had claimed it already happened.

        Yeah I think it was yesterday. Either it was just a coincidence, or they actually had a source and the government delayed announcing this.

        In any case, I salute Boris for doing his part in building herd immunity in the UK. Good for him.

      • UK government like most governments leaks like a sieve. Almost certainly it had happened already or they had already decided to do it and the Russians reported on it.
  • He deserves it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06, 2020 @03:55PM (#59914530)

    https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]

    Boris Johnson said three weeks before his Covid-19 diagnosis that he was "shaking hands with everybody," including coronavirus patients, and would continue to do so — despite scientific advice warning against the greeting.

    Why can't we have world leaders who believe in science?

    • Re:He deserves it (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:01PM (#59914554)

      Because science doesn't vote.

      • be better be human
      • by Sebby ( 238625 )

        Because science doesn't vote.

        Correction: because science doesn't participate in PACs.

      • by sjames ( 1099 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:20PM (#59914898) Homepage Journal

        Because science doesn't vote.

        But it's best friend Reality might be voting now.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Angela Merkel is a scientist. Coincidentally Germany has a very low number of deaths for the number of people infected.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by munehiro ( 63206 )

          As a quantum chemist, I am highly skeptical of whoever has been trained in my field. That said, the reason why Germany has so few deaths is unrelated to her skills or their health system. Better heath systems (France, Italy) show higher numbers in line with the average death rate for covid. IMHO there's something really wrong in how they count.

          • Re:He deserves it (Score:5, Informative)

            by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:56PM (#59915026)

            You think that Italy has a better health system than Germany? Seriously? That is so far removed from reality, it is staggering.

        • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

          by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @08:02PM (#59915438)
          Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • The whole point of science, is that you don't have to believe.
      You can verify for yourself.

      It is not anyone's enemy, and does not even oppose concepts like a "God".

      (Tangent apropos "God": All it says, is: If for your entire existence, you can never tell the difference, what is the use of it?
      E.g. You cannot tell if the bible stories are based on a God, of the devil just wrote lies to make you behave exactly the wrong way, and added "God said it", or something entirely different is true.
      Your chances of getting

      • I like your point about science not being something where people need to believe, and that everything can be verified by oneself.

        I agree, but i also oberve people who believe the opposite. They believe science isnt real (which is weird to me)

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        The whole point of science, is that you don't have to believe.
        You can verify for yourself.

        It is not anyone's enemy,

        Actually, it is the very worst enemy of those that prefer their beliefs to actual reality. While some scientists can be corrupted, Science itself cannot. Hence it must be disregarded, ridiculed and suppressed. Of course, as soon as there is a real problem, that demented stance will magnify the damage done tremendously.

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        "The whole point of science, is that you don't have to believe.
        You can verify for yourself."

        Oh? So, you'll be wanting to verify quantum mechanics on your own? How about vaccines for Sars-CoV-2? Will you be testing those too?

        The basic problem is this post-modern affliction of somehow thinking scientists are in some sort of dodge or grand conspiracy. It's stupid and only allows people the righteous indignation to believe whatever the hell they want because no expert is going to tell them what to do.

      • by dryeo ( 100693 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @06:36PM (#59915232)

        While you're mostly right, science does sometimes come down to believe. For example, the scientific consensus is that the Sun shines by nuclear fusion and there is all kinds of science behind that, even hydrogen bombs have experimentally shown that fusion is real. How do I verify that myself? Really, I'm just left to believe that the science works, hydrogen bombs are real etc.
        There's a lot of science like this, where the required equipment is not available to the average person and we're left trusting and believing the consensus.

    • Because ... they don't want to have to shake hands with the ones who don't during a pandemic?

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by skinfaxi ( 212627 )
      But the nurses, doctors, and other care professionals that he puts at risk do not deserve it.
      • but the right wing of the British were cheering pay cuts for nurses a few years ago. I don't actually believe in karma, but if I did that might count.
    • Re:He deserves it (Score:5, Interesting)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:00PM (#59914842)

      Why can't we have world leaders who believe in science?

      His entire political platform over the past several years has been "People are sick of experts". He's not wrong. People have been showing increased aptitude in their own stupidity. They aren't racing to the bottom as much as they are electing their way down.

      You want leaders who believe in science, I present a world leader who is a trained and practiced chemical engineer: Xi Jinping, his offsider Li Yuanchao has a masters in mathematics, his premier Li Keqiang has a doctorate of economics.

      Science alone doesn't make desirable leaders who are good at handling pandemics.

      • Re:He deserves it (Score:5, Insightful)

        by larryjoe ( 135075 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @06:09PM (#59915110)

        Why can't we have world leaders who believe in science?

        His entire political platform over the past several years has been "People are sick of experts". He's not wrong.

        I don't think people are unwilling to accept science as much as many are unwilling to accept other viewpoints. Often science deniers love science when they think it supports their current thinking. Science is the scapegoat, but it's really masking the real issue of close-mindedness.

        Part of the problem is our democratic system that elevates confident people. Sometimes those people are overconfident and believe that they are always right, so there is no need to listen to different viewpoints.

      • Re:He deserves it (Score:5, Insightful)

        by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @06:12PM (#59915122)

        Why can't we have world leaders who believe in science?

        His entire political platform over the past several years has been "People are sick of experts". He's not wrong. People have been showing increased aptitude in their own stupidity. They aren't racing to the bottom as much as they are electing their way down.

        If a society is sick of experts, it has indeed reached a stage where things can and will only get worse. Ignoring reality is the end for a technology-based society that will increasingly need this technology to survive in the first place. You can vote yourself bread and games and blissful ignorance for a while. But the price that will come due at some point is staggering.

      • by kbahey ( 102895 )

        Why can't we have world leaders who believe in science?

        His entire political platform over the past several years has been "People are sick of experts". He's not wrong. People have been showing increased aptitude in their own stupidity. They aren't racing to the bottom as much as they are electing their way down.

        You want leaders who believe in science, I present a world leader who is a trained and practiced chemical engineer: Xi Jinping, his offsider Li Yuanchao has a masters in mathematics, his premier Li K

      • by k.a.f. ( 168896 )
        Angela Merkel has a Ph.D. in physics.
  • by sinij ( 911942 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:01PM (#59914550)
    Considering how political class in US is rather geriatric and in a high risk category, US leadership might end up going to Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin.
    • by jomcty ( 806483 )
      I see what you did there. :)
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by darthsilun ( 3993753 )
        If both Trump and Pence somehow both buy the farm at the same time, it'll be Nancy Pelosi.

        But I suspect the odds of both of them kicking the bucket are pretty slim, and the odds of them going down within minutes are even slimmer.

        If there was a God in Heaven, he'd have already struck both of them down, so I'm not holding out for any divine intervention here.
        • But I suspect the odds of both of them kicking the bucket are pretty slim, and the odds of them going down within minutes are even slimmer.

          The probability of that event is rather low. The mortality according to most recent Chinese statistics is dependent on: People who smoke and/or have long term exposure to air pollution > 6%. People who are don't Neither one of them smoke or have smoked, neither have lung conditions, neither have diabetes and the only risk items they have are age and (maybe) blood pressure. Not even serious heart conditions (f.e. like the one which Cheney had).

          Further to this, there are some curious statistics released

          • by jabuzz ( 182671 )

            The smoking link is now thought to be much weaker than first thought if it exist at all. It was a hypothesis based on higher mortality rates in males over females and the vastly different rates of smoking between males and females in China. However it has held up in other countries where the rates of smoking between males and females are much closer.

            About one in six who develop complications are getting heart damage, so if you start out with a weakened heart that is not going to be good outcome.

            In the UK th

    • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      Considering how political class in US is rather geriatric and in a high risk category, US leadership might end up going to Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin.

      If Betsy DeVos becomes POTUS, is it too late to find a coyote to smuggle me into Mexico or Canada?

    • "Considering how political class in US is rather geriatric and in a high risk category, US leadership might end up going to Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin."

      You mean when they get sent to a farm upstate?

  • Fail. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:04PM (#59914570)

    A failure to plan is a plan for failure.

    This is his own doing and frankly I have no sympathy for him.

    • To be fair, both Merkel and Trump were in close proximity to a Corona carrier and could very well be sharing intensive care with him now.

    • by Compuser ( 14899 )

      If there is one thing this crisis has shown clearly is the line between people eager to sacrifice someone else's life so can keep lights on and people who have some humanity. Careful with your attitude. Having no sympathy for BoJo the clown makes you no different than him. Again, we are talking about human lives here.

    • by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:25PM (#59914912)
      If you look at the cases per 1M population and deaths per 1M [worldometers.info], the UK (and the US) are actually doing fairly well. Of course it's tough to say for sure since some countries are further along in this disease's progression curve. But the UK and US look like they're close to plateauing, as we're seeing signs that the number of cases and deaths have stopped growing every day. (Spain, Italy, France, and Germany have already plateaued.)

      Perhaps more telling is how the different U.S. states are doing [worldometers.info]. Despite the first cases being detected at about the same time in Washington, New York, and California, California is doing remarkably well - an order of magnitude fewer cases and deaths per 1M population (New York numbers in particular are comparable to Spain and Italy; worse since they're still growing while those two countries have plateaued). What did California do differently? California immediately locked down areas where cases were detected [slashdot.org]. Suggesting that it's not planning which makes the bigger difference, but rather reacting quickly when the first cases were detected (i.e. what seemed like an apparent over-reaction at the time).
      • by cardpuncher ( 713057 ) on Tuesday April 07, 2020 @05:21AM (#59916392)

        The figures for cases are almost entirely worthless. Germany is doing widespread testing, like South Korea, so they're finding more low-level cases. The UK is only testing hospital patients so its figures miss anyone who has mild symptoms that don't require hospitalisation. You can't compare them in any meaningful way.

        Both Germany and South Korea have been aggressively contact-tracing with the information that they got from their testing program and using it to isolate those who are infected. That is reflected in their present lower death rates. Whether this is sustainable in the longer term, for as long as it takes to find and deploy a vaccine is another matter. It's possible there may be no particular benefit to "flattening the curve" more than is necessary to allow hospitals to cope if the only way out of this is for most of us to have had the disease at some point.

  • Rarely (Score:5, Funny)

    by LatencyKills ( 1213908 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:04PM (#59914572)
    Does karma strike so quickly. If this doesn't prove we're living in a simulation, nothing will.
    • Does karma strike so quickly. If this doesn't prove we're living in a simulation, nothing will.

      Well quite. I mean it was only a week ago that he was trying to score political points and future votes in marginal seats by stoking hatred of Londoners banging on about "super spreaders". Looks like he was actually one of those himself.

    • Re:Rarely (Score:5, Interesting)

      by coastwalker ( 307620 ) <.moc.liamtoh. .ta. .reklawtsaoca.> on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:43PM (#59914786) Homepage

      If Boris sadly retires from the playing field he does at least have one last laugh up his sleeve. Dominic Raab his deputy has the charisma and brains of an empty cereal box. He was not chosen as a potential replacement for Boris, more as a symbolic Brexit fanatic with a Pavlovian loyalty to anyone with a clue. During the recent car crash of the Brexit thing he was chiefly memorable for discovering that great quantities of global imports to the UK come across the English channel from Europe - he said: “I hadn’t quite understood the full extent of this, but if you look at the UK and look at how we trade in goods, we are particularly reliant on the Dover-Calais crossing. (and a trade barrier with Europe would seriously disrupt this)”

      Seriously, get well soon Boris you mendacious so and so.

    • Did he have a 5G tower near his house?
  • One about the size of a 250lb man.
  • Instead of talking about how (insert public figure's name here) is doing in their fight against COVID-19, how about more articles focusing on the technical and engineering aspects of dealing with the impacts? It is extremely easy to find info on public figure's health, since BBC and other news sources see fit to inform us of hour by hour changes in their condition. I don't need to see more of the same on slashdot.

    How about articles on how companies are overcoming engineering, scientific, or programming chal

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ardmhacha ( 192482 )

      The current ownership of slashdot realize that politics threads generate more comments than very technical stories.

    • by Hadlock ( 143607 )

      For years and years the biggest thread on /. was the 9/11 thread. Some stories transcend typical editorial standards. That's ok.

    • by Areyoukiddingme ( 1289470 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:01PM (#59914844)

      How about articles on how companies are overcoming engineering, scientific, or programming challenges in re-purposing equipment for new roles in the current pandemic?

      Slashdot is a news aggregator, not a news service. There's been much moaning about how Slashdot's standards have fallen, but considering what it is, it was inevitable. Slashdot is a mirror of news reporting around the world. It's hardly Slashdot's fault that reporting in general has become a cesspool of clickbait, blatant propaganda, and least common denominator pandering.

      I'm no longer willing to 100% blame the news crapfest for their output, either. When there is enough concentrated, motivated fuckwittery in the world that cell towers in the UK are being attacked, is it any wonder that news services are devolving? Now that the world population is so high, there are a lot of bottom 20%ers, enough to sustain whole networks devoted to News For Fuckwits. And pandering to fuckwits pays, or there wouldn't be so much of it.

    • I think it was posted here because many Slashdotters will get in to a big fight over Brexit for no reason.

      But yeah. I don't see any legitimate reason to post this article. Maybe next we should post about a celebrity getting it, and how they are sitting on a $1,000,000 couch while waiting to recover?

      • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

        No, it's because Boris is kind of the UK Trump, which will inspire somebody to post something about Trump, which will produce a looooong thread about US politics, which will sell a bunch of ad impressions.

        I mean, you don't actually need a political story for that to happen, but I guess it probably helps.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Not disappointed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Jarwulf ( 530523 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:13PM (#59914618)
    as usual I'm not disappointed seeing Progressives here and elsewhere living up to the compassionate loving reputation they ascribe to themselves.
    • You know what's funny? As of when you posted that the only really negative posts were by ACs and no one was mentioning political beliefs.

      So in other words, you're clearly the kind of douche who will just make stuff up about those you disagree with to demonize them.

  • Herd immunity (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Camel Pilot ( 78781 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:14PM (#59914622) Homepage Journal

    The original UK plan was to let cv-19 run its course and quickly develop herd immunity. What some of these "gut think" people didn't realize that herd immunity requires a lot of the vulnerable to be "weeded" out.

    • Seems to be working reasonably well in Sweden— as long as people are responsible maybe it isn’t a bad path. Sweden encourages people over 70 to stay home at this point.

      Time will tell which path is best.

      • Sweden barely tests people hence they only appear doing well. Switzerland has a smaller population, but has managed to test four times as many.

      • You're right, time will tell.

        However, Sweden has a one of the higher normalized death rates of 72 dead per million

      • Re:Herd immunity (Score:5, Informative)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Monday April 06, 2020 @05:40PM (#59914974) Homepage Journal

        Boris is only 55. Despite his appearance he isn't that unfit either, e.g. he cycles regularly.

        Protecting over 70s alone isn't enough, we had a 5 year old die here last week.

        • Boris is only 55. Despite his appearance he isn't that unfit either, e.g. he cycles regularly.

          Likely immunocompromised though. High stress and a lack of sleep does that. Now, being a PM is usually considered a low sleep, high stress job at the best of times. With the recent crisis, he's been looking a wreck.

    • That's the same thing I point out to teachers who say our education system is poor because teachers aren't paid enough. If your hypothesis is that low teacher pay discourages people who would be higher quality teachers from entering the profession, then the proper course of action is to fire all the current teachers, raise the pay, and hire the newer, better teachers that the higher pay attracts. In effect, the higher pay increases the applicant pool, allowng you to weed out the bad teachers.

      A lot of pe

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