UK PM Johnson won't isolate after staff member's positive COVID test

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not need to self isolate even though a member of his staff on a recent trip to Scotland tested positive for the coronavirus, his Downing Street office said.

Johnson visited a police college in Fife on Wednesday and a wind farm off Aberdeenshire on Thursday.

Local media reported a member of Johnson’s staff who accompanied him to the police college and travelled with him on a plane tested positive for coronavirus.

“The Prime Minister regularly visits communities across the UK and all aspects of visits are carried out in line with COVID guidance," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“The Prime Minister has not come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive.”

Last month Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak both self-isolated in line with national guidance, abandoning heavily criticised plans to take part in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to continue working.

“It’s clear the Prime Minister hasn’t learned anything from what happened last time he tried to cook up a reason to be above the rules everyone else has to follow," said Anneliese Dodds, chair of the opposition Labour Party.

“Senior Conservatives are really taking the public for fools. This is yet another example of one rule for them and another for everyone else.”