PM self-isolating after contact with Covid-infected MP

BORIS JOHNSON is self-isolating after having contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, it emerged last night.

It comes after the Prime Minister, who had to go into hospital with coronavirus in April, met a group of MPS on Thursday. Among them was Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, who subsequently tested positive for the illness.

A spokesman confirmed that Mr Johnson was self-isolating following an NHS test and trace alert. He said the PM was well and did not have Covid symptoms.

But the development will create a considerable headache as Mr Johnson seeks to re-set his government following the departure of aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain – and with the deadline for a Brexit deal approaching. Meanwhile, John Swinney

said yesterday that virus rates remained “stubbornly high” in some Scottish areas but tougher restrictions were “not inevitable”.

The Deputy First Minister said the Scottish Government was keen not to escalate some council areas to level four if it could be avoided.

Mr Swinney was speaking as the latest figures show that 7,851 people tested positive for Covid in the past seven days, down six per cent on the previous week.

No new deaths were confirmed yesterday – after 36 on Saturday – but the number of people in hospital rose by 43, to 1,241.

On Friday, Mr Swinney warned “more dramatic action” may be needed to curb the spread of the virus in parts of Scotland amid reports Glasgow and neighbouring areas could this week be moved from level three to level four – the highest tier of restrictions. The current measures are set to be reviewed tomorrow.

The move would force hospitality and non-essential shops to close, along with hairdressers, beauty salons, and visitor attractions.

The prevalence of the virus in Glasgow is around three times higher than Edinburgh, where rates have been declining fairly steadily since early October. Both cities are level three.

In Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, and West Dunbartonshire the prevalence of the virus remains similar to the levels in early to mid-october, with little evidence of the “significant and sustained decline” that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to see.

In North and South Lanarkshire, Covid rates are also in line with what they were in early October, but there have been signs of a steadier decline.

However, the First Minister said last week that hospital capacity would also have to be taken into account and reports on Saturday said modelling indicated intensive care beds in the NHS Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow and Clyde regions could run out “within weeks”.

Speaking on the BBC’S Politics Scotland programme, Mr Swinney said it was “not inevitable” a switch to level four would be made, however.

He said: “The Government has been anxious to avoid putting local authorities into level four restrictions. But we are seeing the levels of the virus being stubbornly high in some areas.”

Mr Swinney said there was still “too much human interaction going on” that was enabling the virus to thrive.

He also said he hoped there would be “some availability” of the new Pfizer-biontech vaccine in Scotland before Christmas.

It came as the co-founder of Germany-based Biontech, Professor Ugur Sahin, said he expected the vaccine to half transmission of the virus as well as preventing the disease.

Mr Sahin estimated that life would be back to normal by next winter, rather than spring.