Boris Johnson will self-isolate for the next two weeks at his Number 10 home because Tory MP Lee Anderson tested positive for Covid shortly after a meeting with the Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson is self-isolating
On Monday morning the PM tweeted a video saying: “Hi folks, the good news is that NHS Test and Trace is working ever-more efficiently, but the bad news is that they’ve pinged me and I’ve got to self isolate because someone I was in contact with a few days ago has developed Covid. It doesn’t matter that we were all doing social distancing, it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog, feel great – so many people do in my circumstances. And actually it doesn’t matter that I’ve had the disease and I’m bursting with antibodies. We’ve got to interrupt the spread of the disease and one of the ways we can do that now is by self isolating for 14 days when contacted by Test and Trace.”
Boris Johnson has had a difficult week following the sudden departures of his senior adviser Dominic Cummings and communications director Lee Cain from Downing Street amid reports of infighting.
Boris Johnson was set to launch policies on social justice, “levelling up” and Covid over the coming weeks, a move scrutinised by some as merely a bid to show that he was still in control. As Downing Street made the announcement of the forthcoming commitments, the PM was told to self-isolate having attended a 35-minute meeting with a small group of MPs in Downing Street on Thursday morning.
Among the MPs in that meeting was Joe Anderson, MP for Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. He wrote on Facebook that he had lost his sense of taste on Friday and, after being tested on Saturday, found out that he had tested positive for Covid on Sunday morning. The two politicians were not wearing face masks and did not look like they were two metres apart social distancing in a photo taken at Downing Street, posted on Facebook by Joe Anderson.
The Prime Minister is still expected to outline plans for dealing with issues such as the Covid pandemic, social inequality and the government’s green plans. Brexit crunch talks also enter their final phase this week. A Number 10 spokesperson said that the PM is planning on participating in House of Commons proceedings by video link.
Boris Johnson previously tested positive for Covid at the end of March and was admitted to hospital on April 5, spending three nights in intensive care, later declaring that it “could have gone either way”. He thanked NHS staff for saving his life after returning home to Downing Street.