The United Kingdom’s (UK) Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, along with Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will be isolating themselves while working only from their offices after the nation’s newly-appointed Health Minister Sajid Javid tested positive for the coronavirus.
On July 18, a statement released from British PM’s Downing Street office said, “The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been contracted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID.”
Moreover, as reported by Sky News, a spokesperson has stated that Johnson was at Chequers when contacted by Test and Trace and will remain there to isolate. The PM will not be participating in the pilot but will continue to hold meetings with ministers remotely.
“The Chancellor has also been contacted and will also isolate as required and will not be taking part in the pilot”, the spokesperson added. Sunak informed the same on Twitter.
Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren’t the same for everyone is wrong.
To that end I’ll be self isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 18, 2021
On July 17, according to reports, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed that he had positive for COVID-19 test and was self-isolating, just a day after he had met with Johnson in Downing Street.
The UK is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases mainly due to highly contagious Delta variant, which was first identified in India. However, the nation is set to remove almost all coronavirus-related curbs from Monday.
NHS (National Health Service) Test and Trace is England’s official app in helping to contain the spread of COVID-19.
