Out of action: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak in London last month, before he fell ill. PHOTO: simon dawson/reuters

Boris Johnson's condition is "improving" and he is now "sitting up in bed" after spending two nights in intensive care with coronavirus, the UK chancellor has said.

Rishi Sunak said the prime minister had been "engaging positively" with the medics treating him in St Thomas's Hospital in London.

Downing Street later confirmed Mr Johnson remained in intensive care, but was making "steady progress".

But the boost came as the UK saw its record number of deaths in hospitals, with a rise of 938 taking the toll to at least 7,097, according to Department of Health figures.

Though significantly larger than the previous highest toll of 786, deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Angela McLean said new cases are not "accelerating out of control".

Mr Sunak said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the prime minister, will chair a Cobra committee today to discuss lockdown measures with leaders of the devolved nations.

Earlier, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said the lockdown will not end in Wales next week, ahead of the UK-wide review into the restrictions.

At the daily Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak unveiled a £750m (€855m) bailout to keep struggling charities afloat.

Updating the country on Mr Johnson's condition, he said: "The latest from the hospital is the prime minister remains in intensive care where his condition is improving. I can also tell you he has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed the development on Twitter, adding: "He will fight through!"

Mr Johnson's three-week review into the UK's lockdown measures had been due on Monday, but Downing Street is now saying it will be "on or around" that mark.

Mr Sunak declined to "speculate about the future", saying the evidence to inform any review "will only be available next week".

But after Mr Drakeford said "we will not throw away the gains" by "abandoning our efforts just as they begin to bear fruit", the key figures leading the response were pressed on whether different approaches could be taken in different nations.

"I suspect that simple strategies might well turn out to be the best to use, but we'll see," Prof McLean responded.

In Northern Ireland, Stormont minister Deirdre Hargey indicated there will be no relaxation of restrictions there at next week's review.

Though the death toll rose, Prof McLean said there was "good news" in the daily number of new cases, which is a better indicator of whether distancing measures are working than fatalities.

"This count of new cases in the UK, day by day over the last few weeks, is not accelerating out of control," she said.

NHS England's national medical director Professor Stephen Powis warned that "this is not the time to become complacent", however.

"We are beginning to see the benefits, I believe (of following government measures), but the really critical thing is we have to continue following instructions, following social distancing - because if we don't, the virus will start to spread again," he said.

Irish Independent