British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is self-isolating after a possible case of exposure to coronavirus. Johnson was in contact with a member of parliament recently, who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement by a government spokesman.
Johnson spent some days in the intensive care unit back in April. According to the statement released, the prime minister is not showing any signs of the disease. It said the prime minister will follow the rules and is already self-isolating. He would be working from Downing Street and taking charge of the government’s mandate to end the pandemic, NBC News reports.
He was informed of the development by the NHS Test and Trace – the government contact tracing service tasked with COVID-19 case investigations. After contact with the MP who came down with the disease, the prime minister was required to self-isolate.
The exposure might have occurred during a meeting between the prime minister and members of parliament. Lee Anderson of the Conservative Party, who later tested positive for the virus, was also a part of that session.
The UK had imposed a month-long lockdown measure to deal with a second wave of the pandemic. The measure, which is due to expire in early December, is a part of the government’s strategy to flatten the curve of cases around the country before the holiday season commences.
Johnson defended the measure by saying there’s no alternative approach. In the lockdown, pubs, bars, and restaurants were closed down, except for delivery services. Only essential services, such as education, healthcare, or groceries were allowed to remain open, CNBC writes.
Johnson had severe complications from his first bout with the virus. After recovery, he said doctors at some point had given up on him, and he survived through the numerous liters of oxygen he was given.
There have been documented cases of people becoming reinfected with the virus, but experts are yet to understand how many of these cases might have occurred since the outbreak of the pandemic.
As of Saturday, data from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center showed that the UK had recorded about 1.3 million cases of the infections and more than 51,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
Source: nbcnews.com
