A woman police officer takes a selfie with Boris Johnson in London. File

Johnson’s office says he left St. Thomas’ Hospital and will continue his recovery at Chequers, the prime minister’s country house. He will not immediately return to work.

Johnson has been in the hospital for a week and spent three nights in the ICU.

Johnson said he owes his life to the National Health Service staff who treated him for COVID-19, ahead of figures on Sunday in which the UK is expected to surpass 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths.

"I can’t thank them enough," Johnson said in his first public statement since he was moved out of intensive care Thursday night at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. "I owe them my life.”

Johnson, 55, was diagnosed over two weeks ago, becoming the first world leader confirmed to have the illness. His coronavirus symptoms at first were said to have been mild, including a cough and a fever, and he was working from home during the first few days.

But he was admitted to St. Thomas’ on April 5 after his condition worsened and he was transferred the following day to its intensive care unit, where he received oxygen but was not put onto a ventilator. He spent three nights there before moving back to a regular hospital ward.

While he convalesces, Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to handle the nation's response to the pandemic that has infected at least 1.78 million worldwide and killed 109,000 people. Experts say those numbers seriously understate the impact of the pandemic, due to limited testing and different ways of counting the dead.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma stopped short on Sunday of apologising for the lack of medical masks and gowns but said it is "absolutely right that no medical professional should be placed in a position where they have to make that choice."

"That is why we are making sure we get the equipment to the frontline," he told Sky News.

Associated Press