UK PM Boris Johnson moved out of ICU after 3 nights receiving oxygen treatment

London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night called his pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds after being discharged from intensive care and continues to remain in 'good spirits' despite his battle with the coronavirus.

Mr Johnson was last night taken out of intensive care and placed on a ward at St Thomas' Hospital in London, but wasted no time in calling Ms Symonds, who has been isolating in the couple's Camberwell property.

The Prime Minister, who has been in hospital since Sunday, has spent three nights in a high-dependency unit at St Thomas' Hospital in central London after his condition deteriorated. 

The announcement that the Prime Minister had been moved to a ward came just hours after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for him while he was incapacitated, said he was making 'positive  steps forward' in his treatment.

Last night a No 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery.

'He is in extremely good spirits.'

The Sun last night revealed that on being moved from the intensive care unit, Mr Johnson's first thought was to call Ms Symonds and his other close family members. 

The birth of his child with Carrie Symonds, 32, is also only weeks away, and the couple have been apart since he went into isolation on March 27.

Last night Miss Symonds took to Twitter where she posted a picture of a rainbow.

Alongside the picture she added clapping emojis, as the nation took to the streets on Thursday to Clap for Carers. 

One of the last times the Prime Minister was seen in person, and not on a zoom call, was when he stood on the door step of No 11 last week to take part in Clap for Carers. 

Thoughts will now turn to how long Mr Johnson might remain in hospital before he is well enough to play a full part in Government again. 

On another tumultuous day in the struggle to control coronavirus:

Downing Street said that planning is under way across Whitehall for an exit strategy from lockdown, but ministers are facing criticism for secrecy over the plans;

Mr Johnson is 'continuing to improve' in intensive care, and he has been sitting up 'engaging' with medical staff treating him at St Thomas' hospital;

A respected think-tank has warned that a million people could end up with long-term health conditions as a result of the economic hit from coronavirus lockdown;

The Bank of England has extended the government's Ways and Means provision - effectively its overdraft;

New figures show the economy had effectively flatlined before the coronavirus crisis hit with 0.1 per cent growth in the three months to February; 

It has emerged that MPs have been offered an extra £10,000 in expenses to help them and staff work from home; 

EU officials have accused the UK government of being in 'fantasy land' by insisting the Brexit transition period cannot be extended beyond December; 

It came as the UK recorded 881 more coronavirus deaths today, taking Britain's total to 7,978 as its coronavirus crisis rumbles on.

Mr Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, began the daily news conference on Thursday by saying: 'Can I start with an update on the Prime Minister - he's still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he's in good spirits.'

But he confirmed that he had not spoken to Mr Johnson since taking over his duties. Asked if they had been in touch he said: 'Not yet. It's important, particularly while he is intensive care that he is able to focus on his recovery.'

Mr Raab chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on Thursday afternoon which signalled the lockdown will continue for weeks longer despite mounting fears over the economic hit. 

The Foreign Secretary appealed to the public to keep following social distancing rules as he took the daily Downing Street briefing, insisting there will be no more information about changes to the draconian curbs until at least the end of next week. 

In a stark message, Mr Raab - deputising for Boris Johnson - said the disease must not be allowed to 'kill more people and hurt our country'. 'We're not done yet. We must keep going,' he said.