UK PM, Boris Johnson Self-isolates Again!

• As crucial week begins

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was forced into self-isolation on Sunday night just as he embarked on a crucial week designed to restore calm and project an air of competence after a vicious No 10 turf war.

There are concerns that COVID-19 had returned to Downing Street as the result of a 35-minute meeting between the Prime Minister and a group of Tory MPs at No 10, one of whom subsequently tested positive for the virus.

Johnson was pictured standing next to Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, inside Downing Street on Thursday. The men appear to be less than two (2) metres apart and neither is wearing a mask.

Officials insisted Downing Street was a COVID-secure workplace but said NHS Test and Trace had said factors including the length of the meeting meant Johnson should self-isolate as a precaution.

The PM will have held meetings with several other figures since Thursday, including his aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, who resigned this week before being ordered by Johnson to leave on Friday following a 45-minute meeting at No 10.

The advice for Johnson to now self-isolate for 10 days comes at a difficult moment for the government. He is expected to continue to make public statements from inside No 10, including on the government’s green plans. This is also a pivotal week for Brexit, as negotiations with the EU reach their final phase.

Downing Street said Johnson will liaise with parliamentary authorities about remote participation in House of Commons proceedings. Under the “hybrid” parliament arrangements, MPs can only take part in some proceedings by video link. It is not clear if he will participate in prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.

A No 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister will follow the rules and is self-isolating. He will carry on working from Downing Street, including on leading the government’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The PM is well and does not have any symptoms of COVID-19.”

Johnson contracted the disease himself in late March, shortly after announcing the first nationwide lockdown. He initially continued to work in Downing Street, before his health worsened and he was taken to intensive care. – The Guardian