Medic describes kind of treatment UK PM might receive

A UK medical expert on Tuesday explained the type of care UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson might be getting after he was transferred to intensive care as he continues to battle the coronavirus.

Johnson has spent the night in an intensive care unit of a London hospital after his COVID-19 symptoms, the condition caused by the virus, dramatically worsened.

Mervyn Singer, Professor of intensive care medicine at University College London, said most COVID patients in intensive care due to the virus need help breathing.

He explained this was done through oxygen masks and specialised pressure masks before a ventilator was used.

"Essentially COVID-19 patients, if they need to be ventilated, often are taking 10, 14 days, even longer," he said.

He also said it could be weeks or months before Johnson recovers fully after leaving intensive care.

"There's something called post intensive care syndrome, which is very, very well recognised," he said. "So patients who are critically ill (have) had the stuffing knocked out of them and it can take actually weeks or sometimes even months to fully recover."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.