PM’S U-turn over Covid quarantine sparks an outrage
BORIS Johnson has abandoned plans to avoid quarantine after being contacted by NHS Test and Trace following a furious political backlash.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak had originally planned to take daily tests rather than self-isolate following meetings last week with Health Secretary Sajid Javid who has tested positive for Covid.
But in a dramatic turnaround Downing Street said the two ministers would be selfisolating rather than taking part in a daily contact testing pilot.
“The Prime Minister has been contacted by NHS Test and Trace to say he is a contact of someone with Covid,” a spokesman said.
“He was at Chequers when contacted by Test and Trace and will remain there to isolate. He will not be taking part in the testing pilot.
“He will continue to conduct 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 Prime Minister later tweeted a video of him saying that he had been pinged and asked to self-isolate after being in contact with Mr Javid.
“We did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in this scheme which allows people to test daily, but I think it is far more important that everyone sticks to the same rules, and that’s why I’m going to be self-isolating until Monday, July 26,” he said.
The U-turn came less that three hours after No 10 announced the two ministers would carry on working in Downing Street while taking daily tests.
It is part of a programme being trialled across 20 public and private sector organisations including Border Force and Network Rail as well as the Cabinet Office and No 10.
That sparked outrage amid warnings it risked undermining the Government’s messaging on continuing to self-isolation at a critical point in the pandemic.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Government was in ‘chaos’ at a time when in needed to maintain public confidence.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been busted yet again for thinking the rules that we are all following don’t apply to them,” he said. “The way the Prime Minister conducts himself creates chaos, makes for bad government and has deadly consequences for the British public”.