Boris Johnson spends third night in hospital as first Covid-19 patients admitted to NHS Nightingale

Boris Johnson has spent a third night in hospital - a second night in intensive care - with Downing Street expressing cautious optimism over his recovery as he continues to breathe without assistance.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the Prime Minister during his absence, yesterday said he felt “confident” Mr Johnson would pull through, as the Government’s chief scientific adviser said there were signs the UK’s Covid-19 fight “could be moving in the right direction".

It comes as the first patients arrived at London’s new NHS Nightingale hospital – the first of several field hospitals set up across the country to treat virus patients.

Meanwhile, the Chinese city of Wuhan – the original epicentre of the pandemic’s outbreak – has reopened after 76 days shut off from the world, marking the end of one of the largest lockdowns in human history.