Captain Sir Tom Moore Has Tested Positive For Coronavirus

Former British Army officer and lockdown hero Captain Sir Tom Moore has tested positive for coronavirus. Moore was admitted to hospital on Sunday (Jan. 31) to receive "additional help with his breathing," his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said in a statement shared to her father's social media.

"Over the last few weeks he was being treated for pneumonia and last week tested positive for Covid-19," the statement reads. "He was at home with us until today when he needed additional help with his breathing. He is being treated in a ward, although he is not in the ICU." A spokeswoman for the family told BBC News that Moore had not yet received the Covid-19 vaccine "due to the medication he was on for pneumonia".

Hannah goes on to praise the care her father is receiving at Bedford Hospital, adding that "we know that the wonderful staff will do all they can to make him comfortable and hopefully return home as soon possible."

Thousands of people have been sharing messages of support and best wishes for Moore's recovery, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer. "My thoughts are very much with @CaptainTomMoore and his family," Johnson tweeted. "You've inspired the whole nation, and I know we are all wishing you a full recovery."

During the first lockdown, Moore celebrated his 100th birthday by walking 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire and raised nearly £33 million for NHS Charities Together. The money raised has been used to provide things like food and spaces to relax for NHS staff as they work to treat patients with coronavirus. The donations have also been used to purchase iPads to connect patients with their families.

"That's what's made a big difference to me — that you've been able to make a big difference to the patients, rather than it being about us," Cath Scott, a specialist ward manager at Darlington Memorial Hospital, told BBC News.