I was ‘too fat’ when I got Covid, admits UK PM Boris Johnson

Britain faces a ‘very tough winter’, warns Boris Johnson, who admits he was ‘too fat’ when he got the coronavirus.

Britain faces a “very tough winter” amid “bumpy, months’’ to Christmas and beyond, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned.

In a candid interview with the BBC on Sunday (local time), Mr Johnson said he was “too fat’’ when he contracted the coronavirus in April, when he spent three nights in intensive care, adding that the pandemic was “a teachable moment’’ for Britain to address obesity.

Mr Johnson, 56, denied rumours he was suffering long-term symptoms of COVID-19.

“I can tell you I’m fitter than several butchers’ dogs,” he said.

In recent months, Mr Johnson has lost more than 6kg and undertakes rigorous sessions with a personal trainer.

“If I may say so, this is a teachable moment for our great country because we are one of the greatest places on Earth but, alas, as a nation we are slightly too fat,” Mr Johnson said.

“We are fatter than virtually anybody else in Europe, apart from the Maltese for some reason, and we need to think about this. I don’t wish to cast any aspersions on my Maltese friends.”

Mr Johnson was asked if the fast-food-loving Donald Trump — in hospital with COVID-19 — should cut down on cheeseburgers. “This is an important point, obesity — I’m not making any comment on President Trump — but obesity, since you mention cheeseburgers, is one of the problems that this country needs to address,’’ he said.

Mr Johnson said there was no doubt the UK faced a difficult time ahead in the lead-up to Christmas dealing with rising cases of coronavirus, although deaths are a fraction of what they were in April and May.

“Clearly we’ve put a lot more load back on the risk factor in that we’ve got schools back, we’ve got businesses back, we’re moving again in a way we weren’t during the lockdown in March and April,” he said. “But we’ve managed to keep hospital admissions much lower than they were in that period, we’ve managed to keep the death rate down, although we need to make sure we keep it down.

“The balance is how do you ensure that places continue to fight the virus effectively while keeping the economy going. In all candour, it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may be bumpy beyond.”

He said that by the northern spring, scientific developments would mean a “different world”, but he didn’t want to get people’s hopes up “’unnecessarily’’ for a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The Tory government said plans were afoot to use the military to distribute any viable vaccine to healthcare workers, the elderly and most vulnerable first.

The UK has imposed local lockdowns to address spikes in cases, resulting in a confusion of rules between neighbourhoods. As well, there has been a 10pm curfew on pubs because Mr Johnson said “people get more convivial as the evening goes on’’.

The UK has also been beset with an overwhelmed test and trace system, with more than 12,000 new cases announced on Saturday, although some were from results earlier in the week.