British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been hospitalized for tests, after 10 days of coronavirus symptoms.

Iran PressEurope: "On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the tests were part of a "precautionary step" due to Johnson's lingering symptoms.

The 55-year-old announced that he had tested positive for the virus on March 27, describing a cough and a fever in a video posted to Twitter. In an update on Friday, Johnson said that he continued to experience a temperature, CNN reported.

In its Sunday statement, Downing Street said that the "Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus."

According to the statement, Johnson, who did not take the coronavirus virus seriously in the early days of the epidemic, urged “the public to continue to follow the Government's advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

He had been running the government remotely during his isolation and remains in charge despite his hospitalization.

Several of the people around Johnson have also tested positive or experienced symptoms that strongly suggest a coronavirus infection. His pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds, has also experienced COVID-19 symptoms, and said over the weekend that she is "on the mend."

The total number of deaths recorded in Britain has neared 5000, with more than 47,000 cases confirmed across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Britain's death toll has been steadily increasing at more than 500 deaths a day this week and the country is bracing for an expected peak in the next week to 10 days.

The COVID-19 global pandemic that has swept into at least 208 countries, has infected around 1,266,000 and killed nearly 70,000 people. More than 260,000 have recovered from the disease so far.

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