The Telegraph has cited unnamed sources as saying that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to return to work on Monday to “take back control of the coronavirus crisis”.
The sources claimed that Johnson had tasked his aides with scheduling “catch-up meetings with individual Cabinet ministers next week to get fully up to speed”.
One of the sources described Johnson as “not the sort of person who is very good at doing nothing”.
“In truth, he has been working pretty much full time for the past week. The fact that he had a telephone audience with the Queen on Wednesday night shows you that he considers himself to be fit for duty”, the source claimed.
Downing Street, in turn, has not yet confirmed the date of Johnson’s possible return to work, adding that it will be in line with appropriate medical advice.
The sources’ claims come after US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday the British PM surprised him with “tremendous energy” during their recent phone call as Johnson had reportedly made a quick recovery from COVID-19.
POTUS said that he was “actually surprised” because Johnson “sounded incredible” during the telephone conversation.
“I think he is doing great. He is so sharp, energetic. Pretty incredible, he's an incredible guy”, Trump said.
The comments followed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock who told Sky News earlier in the day that he spoke to Johnson on Thursday and that “he’s in good shape and on very good form”. According to Hancock, the British prime minister is “clearly recovering”.
Johnson announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on 27 March and was admitted to hospital ten days later after struggling to beat the symptoms of the disease at home. He underwent intensive care treatment before being discharged from hospital on 12 April. The PM is currently continuing his recovery from the coronavirus at his country residence Chequers.