Details to follow.
If one were even more prone to conspiracy theories than one already is, one might think that this was a PR stunt. “PM fighting on the front lines!”, “Boris is one of us!”. It would also give him even more time off.
As I said on the other thread, this will concentrate some minds in government.
The question now is, how many other people who have been around Johnson for the past week have got it? He won’t be the only one.
So given his age, what are the chances for his recovery? (I remember seeing a breakdown of mortality for confirmed infections by age group, but can’t seem to find it now.)
Let’s see, he’s 55, chubby, drinks, smokes cigars. The last one might be the worst co-factor. (Not sure if he also smokes cigarettes which would be even worse.)
OTOH, I’m sure he’ll get priority medical care. That makes a big difference.
Less likely to die than Prince Charles, more likely than Idris Elba.
Also the Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
One doesnt inhale a cigar.
Psst…
This video of Dominic Cummings literally running out of Downing Street shortly after Johnson and Hancock tested positive made me laugh.
I thought you advocated herd immunity, Mr Cummings? 
Or are the rats deserting the ship of state?
Well, according to the graph in this BBC article, the death rate for confirmed cases in his age range is around 0.5%. So without factoring in any complications and pre-existing conditions mentioned upthread, it seems he has a relatively good chance of surviving. (Of course, even the death rate for very old people or those with pre-existing conditions doesn’t seem to exceed 11%.)
In many ways, whether he lives or dies is less important, globally, than whether he gets so sick that he is incapacitated. Which is significantly more likely.
I don’t see how. He’s packed the cabinet with his own loyalists (at least, more than past prime ministers in recent memory have done) who are unlikely to deviate from his views and policies. If Johnson is incapacitated, the cabinet will keep running things more or less as he’s been doing.
I’m sure some people have “faked” getting the Coronavirus for attention. In terms of world leaders, I would be much more likely to believe that a leader covered up having it then faking having it. I don’t know if Trump could hide it, but I think he would if he could.
As a rule, leaders don’t want sympathy, they want to project strength.
You haven’t met my father.
Luckily, he isn’t a president. The government doesn’t grind to a halt just because a minister gets sick, even the ‘Prime’ Minister. In this instance, the Foreign Secretary would step up to the plate.
I think he could easily hide it. His doctor would not be able to release any information without Trump’s approval. Trump would not allow the doctor to do so, because it would endanger his re-election.
I don’t mean that way, I just mean everyone was speculating on whether he’d survive, and I was pointing out that that isn’t really nearly as relevant as whether he’d stay in the game, so to speak.
I mean, the US also won’t grind to a halt if the president is incapacitated or dead, but it’s certainly relevant. My point is that if you’re going to talk about it at all, the more relevant stat is chance of being incapacitated.