Boris Johnson will return to work from Monday – despite still feeling the ‘debilitating’ symptoms of coronavirus.

The Prime Minister will resume charge of the Government’s response to coronavirus when he returns to Downing Street after a spell in intensive care recovering from the disease.

Mr Johnson was said to be ‘raring to go’ after spending the past two weeks recuperating at his official country residence Chequers, though allies warn he is still suffering with the effects of often deadly Covid-19.

A source close to the PM told the Mail: ‘It will be a while before he is working 14-hour days again.’

Mr Johnson has not been in constant contact with the public during his recovery, nor has he been in charge of decision making.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Mr Johnson was ‘definitely on the mend in a big way’.

While US President Donald Trump said Mr Johnson ‘sounded incredible, he was ready to go… it’s like the old Boris, tremendous energy, tremendous drive’ after a phone call between the two leaders.

Mr Johnson returns to No 10 on a part-time basis initially, amid growing pressure from senior Conservatives to begin easing lockdown and growing dismay at the damage it is causing to the economy.

However, scientists advising the Government on its response warned it was far too soon to consider any relaxation, as the official death toll for the UK passed 20,000.

Officials were reported to be working on a Singapore-style plan for the passengers arriving at UK sea and airports to be quarantined for 14 days.

According to The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, it is intended to stop fresh cases arriving from abroad when the Government rolls out its ‘track and trace’ scheme to identify and isolate new infections.

Mr Johnson prepared for his return with a three-hour summit meeting on Friday with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab – who has been deputising for him – and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

His main concern while he has been away was said to have been to ensure the lockdown conditions were kept in place long enough to prevent a second wave of the pandemic hitting the country.

A series of wealthy Tory backers who have donated millions of pounds to the party coffers have urged the Government to begin loosening the restrictions to controls to allow the economy to start up again.

In contrast, Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – which has been helping shape the Government’s response, warned any relaxation risked an upsurge of new cases.

‘The strategy behind plans to lift the lockdown is based on the idea [that] you could then control the epidemic by testing people for infections before tracing their contacts,’ he told The Observer.

‘However, if we lifted the lockdown now, the testing and tracing system would be overwhelmed. We will have to get case numbers down a lot lower than they are now before we can think of lifting current regulations.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added to the pressure on the Government by stepping up his calls for ministers to set out an ‘exit strategy’ for lifting the restrictions once it was safe to do so.

In a letter to Mr Johnson, Sir Keir said it was essential ministers learned the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis.

He said the UK was again in danger of falling behind other countries – as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales – which were already engaged in ‘adult’ conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased.

‘Simply acting as if this discussion is not happening is not credible, especially when other governments and our own devolved administrations have been able to communicate so much more,’ he wrote.

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