Captain Sir Tom Moore’s In Hospital With Covid 😱

It’s incredible that a man who was unknown beyond his family and care home has become one of Britain’s most beloved personalities. It took Attenborough decades of grafting to hit the same level of national treasuredom, but Captain Tom took the heart of the nation back in the first lockdown by raising over £33m for the NHS by walking around his garden.

The media swooped on this World War Two veteran and all-round nice bloke and helped drive his campaign across the front pages of the papers, a lone feel-good story amidst a terrible situation.

And it won him not only the affection of the nation, but its gratitude, with a knighthood and an honorary promotion to Colonel.

Indeed, Sir Tom’s dedication was such that he went back to his fundraising when the situation started to turn in Autumn. But in recent months the centurion’s health hasn’t been perfect and a pneumonia meant that he wasn’t able to be vaccinated along with the rest of his care home.

In a cruel twist, last week he tested positive for Covid-19 and his daughter last night announced that he needed additional help with his breathing and was taken to hospital.

While deadly in older people, the odds of Sir Tom surviving are still good, particularly with the advances in care for coronavirus patients over the last year, but we’ll certainly be thinking of Captain Sir Tom and his family over the coming days and weeks.

My thoughts are very much with @CaptainTomMoore and his family. You’ve inspired the whole nation, and I know we are all wishing you a full recovery. https://t.co/Gm0S07umgd

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 31, 2021