Moments after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus as the outbreak spreads across the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock also announced he is suffering from the disease.
This has raised fears that other politicians and senior officials will have been infected as well. But Johnson insisted he will still lead UK’s response to the crisis, thanks to ‘wizardry of modern technology’
Mr Johnson took part in applause for NHS staff from Downing Street last night and was in Commons for PMQs, reports Mailonline.
The premier will self-isolate for seven days in his flat above No11 Downing Street and he will work from there
But No10 insisted no other ministers need to self-isolate despite guidance for whole households to do so
Mr Johnson’s partner Carrie Symonds, pregnant, and is said to have been following guidance on self-isolation
The bombshell news threatens to send the government’s response into chaos, with speculation rampant over who else might be infected at the highest echelons of the state.
The politicians are believed to have carried out a slew of face-to-face meetings over the past week. But Downing Street insists there is no need for other ministers or officials to get checked unless they start displaying symptoms.
The drama kicked off this morning when Mr Johnson declared he had coronavirus. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty advised him to get a test after he developed a temperature and cough yesterday afternoon.
The 55-year-old insisted he only has ‘mild’ symptoms’, and will be continuing to lead the national response over video-conference. The PM will stay in his flat in No11 – from where he chaired a meeting of the ‘war Cabinet’ this morning – and aides will leave meals and work outside the door.
Within hours Mr Hancock then revealed he also has the virus. ‘I’ve tested positive. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I’m working from home & self-isolating,’ he tweeted. Mr Hancock had been expected to appear at the daily government press briefing this evening, but Michael Gove is now likely to fill in.
Despite the government’s own guidance saying people must self-isolate for 14 days if anyone in their ‘household’ develops symptoms, no senior figures – such as Chancellor Rishi Sunak who was with the PM last night or chief aide Dominic Cummings – are thought to be going into isolation. Mr Cummings was seen making a hasty exit from Downing Street today carrying a rucksack.
Mr Johnson’s pregnant partner Carrie Symonds is believed to be in self-isolation, although it is not known when they last saw each other or if she has been checked.
In a video, Mr Johnson said: ‘Hi folks I want to bring you up to speed on something that is happening today which is that I have developed mild symptoms of coronavirus, that is to say a temperature and a persistent cough, and on the advice of the chief medical officer I have taken a test.
‘That has come out positive so I am working from home, I am self-isolating.
‘That is entirely the right thing to do but be in no doubt that I can continue thanks to the wizardry of modern technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight back against coronavirus.’
Downing Street has previously said that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will fill in if the PM is incapacitated, although there is little sign that he has stopped working.
There are fears the outbreak is accelerating after the declared UK death toll rose by 113 to 578 yesterday – the steepest increase yet;
