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Boris Johnson branded coronavirus as the 'invisible mugger' in his address to the nation this morning after recovering from the killer bug.

The Prime Minister appeared outside Number 10 for the first time in more than three weeks after he was struck down with coronavirus and admitted to an intensive care unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London.

In his speech this morning, he said lockdown measures must continue in order to keep flattening the curve and avoid a second peak of coronavirus cases and deaths.

The Prime Minister said: "If this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger, which I can tell you from personal experience it is, then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor.

"And so it follows that this is the moment of opportunity. This is the moment when we can press home our advantage.

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(Image: REUTERS)

"It is also the moment of maximum risk because I know there will be many people looking now at our apparent success and beginning to wonder whether now is the time to go easy on those social distancing measures."

Mr Johnson said social distancing must go on - otherwise it would risk "not only a new wave of death and disease - also an economic disaster".

And it would mean the UK must "slam on the brakes" with a second lockdown all over again, he said.

He added: "I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS."

Today's surprise statement outside 10 Downing Street was his first public appearance since the day after he left hospital around two weeks ago.

Mr Johnson claimed the UK has managed to have "apparent success" despite more than 20,000 deaths in hospital - and many more in care homes and other places around the country.

The death toll is one of the highest of any country in the world.

But "we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict," Mr Johnson claimed - thanks to the "forbearance, good sense, altruism, and spirit of community" of the British people.

He said the UK was "making progress" with "real signs now that we are passing through the peak".

He added: "Thanks to our collective national resolve, we are on the brink of achieving that first clear mission - to prevent our NHS from being overwhelmed in a way that tragically we have seen elsewhere.

"And that is how and why we are now beginning to turn the tide."

(Image: 10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty)

The Prime Minister gave his eight-and-a-half-minute unscheduled message after he arrived back in Downing Street last night - three weeks after he entered St Thomas' Hospital in London.

Mr Johnson spent three days in intensive care after his cough and fever lasted for more than a week and took a turn for the worse.

No10 said he did not need to go on a ventilator - but he was confined to his bed for several days at St Thomas' Hospital in London.

He later thanked NHS staff for saving his life and travelled to recover at his grace and favour country home Chequers, alongside fiancee Carrie Symonds.

Mr Johnson said: "I’m sorry I’ve been away from my desk for much longer than I would have liked.

"I want to thank you the people of this country for the sheer grit and guts you’ve shown and are continuing to show.

"Every day I know this virus brings new sadness and mourning to households across the land.

"It is still true that this is the biggest single challenge this country has faced since the war and I no way minimise the continuing problems we face."