Boris’s aide gets Covid... but the PM won’t isolate

BORIS JOHNSON continued on a tour of Scotland after a member of his team tested positive for Covid-19.

Downing St insisted that the Prime Minister did not come into ‘close contact’ with the individual, so did not need to isolate for ten days, but sources claim they were ‘side by side’ on several occasions.

The source also said that the PM and the civil servant flew in the same plane between Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Downing St sources insisted that Mr Johnson has not been ‘pinged’ by the Covid-19 app or contacted by NHS test and trace, and was on the other side of the plane.

They confirmed that a member of staff had received a positive result.

‘The Prime Minister regularly visits communities across the UK and all aspects of visits are carried out in line with Covid guidance,’ a Downing St spokesman said. ‘The Prime Minister has not come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive.’ Government sources said the PM, who is currently at Chequers, has been tested since the staff member delivered a positive result.

Mr Johnson came out of isolation only last month after coming into close contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who came down with the virus.

Together with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the PM initially tried to avoid isolating, saying they would join a pilot of daily contact testing instead. However, they U-turned in the face of mounting public pressure. Sources told the Guardian that the positive case was with the Prime Minister most of Wednesday in Glasgow, before boarding a plane to continue the tour in Aberdeen.

The source added that the individual was tested on arrival in Aberdeen and then went into isolation with some other members of the entourage.

Close contacts of anyone who has tested positive will be asked to self-isolate for ten days in Scotland, where they are defined as ‘someone who has been physically close

enough to the confirmed case for a long enough period of time that they may have had the virus transmitted to them.’

The rules in England state that a ‘person may also be a close contact if they have travelled in the same vehicle or plane as a person who has tested positive for Covid-19.’ It also advises that on a plane the ‘risk of transmission is small at two metres’. It is not clear which criteria was applied.

When asked why Mr Johnson was not self-isolating, a No10 source said the pM was ‘tested in advance of travelling to Scotland and had a further pCR test’ before visiting an offshore wind farm on the final day of his trip.