Coronavirus update: UK PM Johnson is 'extremely sick' and may need a ventilator – Sky News

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Citing Derek Hill, professor of medical imaging at University College London, Sky News reports that the UK Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson is "extremely sick" and it is very likely he will need a ventilator.

Boris Johnson has been taken to intensive care – BBC

Key quotes

Mr Johnson could be given a breathing aid known as continuous positive airway pressure.

Many COVID-19 patients eventually "progress to invasive ventilation", which is for people whose illness is so severe that they are struggling or unable to breathe for themselves.

One of the features of COVID-19 in all countries seems to be that many more men become seriously ill than women - especially in the over 40 age group.

Also, we know that people under about 60 seem to have a higher chance of making a recovery from critical illness with COVID-19 than older people.

But there is no doubt this turn of events means Boris Johnson is extremely sick.

It’s worth noting that the latest figures show that the death rate of those admitted to intensive care in the UK now exceeds 50%.

GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD quickly eroded 20-pips on the above headlines, as it moves away from daily highs of 1.2275 to now trade at 1.2256, still up 0.22% on the day.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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