Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to return to work on Monday

Boris Johnson is to return to work at Downing Street on Monday after recuperating from coronavirus, sources have said.

The Prime Minister has been recovering at his official country residence in Chequers after being released from St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

He is understood to have held a three-hour summit meeting with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab – who has been deputising for him – and Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Friday ahead of his return.

He could be back to host Monday’s daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference and possibly take on new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.

Mr Johnson has barely been seen for the past month after his diagnosis with coronavirus and other members of the Cabinet have been filling in for him in his absence, led by Mr Raab.

By his own admission, the prime minister said he came close to death after being admitted to intensive care.

In a video posted after his release from hospital, he thanked NHS staff at St Thomas’s Hospital.

He said: “We will win because our NHS is the beating heart of this country. It is the best of this country.”

He faces a difficult task to lead Britain's fightback against the disease, which has now claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Britons.

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