London: British Prime Minister has been identified by the country’s test-and-trace system as a case of contact with a person infected with the coronavirus. However, like thousands of his countrymen, Boris Johnson will not stay at home for 10 days. Johnson’s 10 Downing Street office said on Sunday that the prime minister was alerted last night with a test-and-trace phone app. On Friday, he had a meeting with Health Minister Sajid Javed, who was found infected with Covid-19 on Saturday.
Javed has taken all doses of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine. He says that he has mild symptoms of Covid-19. People who get such information from the app have to go to separate habitats, although this is not a legal obligation. The person who came in contact with the infected person is generally advised to go into isolation for 10 days. But Johnson’s office said the prime minister would instead conduct daily coronavirus tests under an alternative system in some workplaces, including government ones. The same rules apply to treasury chief Rishi Sunak as he too came in contact with Javed after the meeting.
The government said the two men would do “only essential government work during this time”. Cases of coronavirus are increasing continuously in the UK and according to the rules, people who came in contact with infected people are advised to live in isolation. Traders, restaurants, car makers, and the London Metro have spoken of facing labor shortages due to this.
Jonathan Ashworth, the health spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, said people were outraged that some were getting “VIP-like” special facilities to avoid self-isolation. Johnson was infected with the coronavirus in April 2020 and was admitted to the ICU of the hospital for three days.
Now he has come in contact with the infected person at a time when the UK government is preparing to lift the ban from Monday. However, the government has appealed to the people to exercise caution in view of the highly contagious delta nature. This form of the virus was first detected in India. The UK reported more than 54,000 cases on Saturday, the highest since January.
