Boris Johnson goes into quarantine after Covid-19 exposure

Boris Johnson goes into quarantine after Covid-19 exposure
Credit: Lee Anderson/Facebook

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been hit by the coronavirus again, announcing he was going into self-isolation after being in contact with someone infected with Covid-19.

"The good news is that the [National Health Service]'s Test & Trace is working ever more efficiently. The bad news is that they've pinned me and I've got to self-isolate," Johnson tweeted on Monday.

The prime minister said he received an alert from the app because he had been into contact with Conservative MP Lee Anderson, two days before he tested positive for the virus.

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A photo of the meeting shared by Anderson showed both men are pictured standing side by side without wearing a face mask.

Johnson's retreat into quarantine comes after a previous infection with Covid-19 in April landed the prime minister in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU), where he remained for seven days.

In his message on Monday, Johnson said that he was quarantining despite that the fact that he was "feeling great" and that both he and Anderson were "doing social distancing."

"Actually it doesn't matter that I've had the disease and I am bursting with antibodies — we have got to interrupt the spread of the disease," he added.

The PM's second close encounter with the coronavirus comes ahead of a crucial week in the UK as the transition period comes to an end, making Brexit effective from the end of December.

The departure last week of his chief Brexit adviser and Dominic Cummings further shake up the period Johnson will spend in quarantine as he juggles the twin challenges of Brexit and the deadly pandemic.

A meeting with EU27 leaders on Thursday is seen as a crucial deadline in Downing Street, following yet another round of unsuccessful talks over a trade deal.

Johnson is also expected to decide whether to extend current coronavirus restrictions —which have Britain under lockdown until 2 December—, amid high pressure from conservative supporters to lift them, VRT reports.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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