BORIS Johnson will not make any public appearances for a week after a "family member tested positive for coronavirus".
The news follows the Prime Minister pulling out of a planned visit to a vaccination clinic on Thursday.
The Prime Minister would have faced questions from the media about his attendance at a No 10 “bring your own booze” event on the planned visit to Lancashire.
But he has pulled out, despite official guidance no longer requiring vaccinated contacts of coronavirus cases to self-isolate.
Previously, Johnson has had no qualms about continuing with political photo-ops despite the risk of spreading Covid-19.
In August 2021, he visited sites in north east Scotland despite having been "side-by-side" with someone who tested positive for the disease not 24 hours before. And in February 2021, he visited a Valneva vaccine lab in Livingston despite being warned of Covid outbreak at the facility beforehand.
A Downing Street spokesperson has now told journalists that Johnson will be isolating and conducting meetings virtually "for the large part" until next Wednesday.
It was reportedly a member of his close family - either his wife Carrie or one of the children he has living at Downing Street - who tested positive for Covid-19.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said Johnson said the PM took a test on Wednesday and another on Thursday.
They went on: “The PM is following the guidance to do daily tests and limit contact with others.
“For reference, the guidance is to take an LFD [lateral flow device] test every day for seven days, or until 10 days after the household member who has Covid-19 started their self-isolation period if this is earlier and, in this instance it’s not, so it’s seven days.”
The spokesperson said “in line with the guidance, he’s reducing contacts, he’ll be working from No 10, doing the daily tests, and limiting contact with others both outside No 10 and indeed inside No 10 as well”.
He said the PM would continue to hold meetings but “for the large part that will be done virtually”.
The Prime Minister has faced calls to quit from within the Tory ranks after admitting attending a “bring your own booze” event in the No 10 garden on May 20, 2020.
He has insisted that he believed it was a work event and No 10 said he had not seen the email inviting staff to bring their own alcohol to the “socially distanced drinks”.
Johnson apologised for the event in the Commons on Wednesday, but it has done little to stem the growing fury.
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