LONDON – British Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating – just as his government prepares to jettison most pandemic restrictions in England.
Under the government’s rules, Javid is required to self-isolate for 10 days, following his tweet that a PCR test confirmed his initial lateral flow test.
His “close contacts” – potentially including others in the government – will have to self-isolate, too, if they receive instructions from the state-run National Health Service (NHS).
Javid had a “lengthy” meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, reported the Sunday Times.
Johnson nearly died of Covid-19 last year. Downing Street declined to comment on whether he or any other cabinet member now also faces self-quarantine.
Javid appeared alongside ministers in Parliament last week, and a government source told The Telegraph newspaper: “I don’t see how half the cabinet doesn’t end up in isolation by the end of the week.”
Javid has only been in the job since June 26, when his predecessor Matt Hancock resigned following revelations of having broken coronavirus restrictions amid an affair with a close aide.
The new minister stressed that he has received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and his symptoms are “very mild”.
He said any member of the public experiencing symptoms should get tested.
“If everyone plays their part, you’re not only protecting yourself and your loved ones, but you’re also safeguarding NHS and helping preserve our way of life.”
However, with cases again surging, many scientists have said the government is endangering NHS with its plan to scrap most legal pandemic requirements in England tomorrow.
For the first time since January, Britain’s daily Covid-19 caseload has exceeded 50,000, and Javid earlier warned that the figure may double in the coming weeks.
But, the government insisted that with two-thirds of the adult population fully vaccinated, the risk can be managed, and tomorrow has been dubbed “Freedom Day” by many United Kingdom media outlets.
Munira Wilson, health spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrats, said Javid’s test result “shows no one is safe from this deadly virus”.
Urging the government “to rethink its reckless plans for Monday”, she said: “By easing all restrictions with cases surging, they are experimenting with people’s lives.”
The surge in infections sweeping Britain led to more than 530,000 people being instructed to self-isolate by a government-run app in the week to July 7, according to the latest data.
Some companies such as carmaker Nissan have been losing staff en masse after they were pinged by the app – in a brewing crisis described by UK newspapers as a “pingdemic”.
Staff shortages caused by the isolation rules disrupted the London Underground network yesterday, with one line suspended entirely. – AFP, July 18, 2021
