The coronavirus epidemic at the heart of the UK Government has affected senior advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, who is now isolating himself after showing symptoms just days after the British leader himself tested positive.
A spokesperson for Downing Street said Monday, according to Reuters news agency, that Cummings, one of the government’s most powerful people, experienced signs of COVID-19 over the weekend.
Several other British media have also claimed that Cummings isolated himself, citing an unidentified Downing Street source.
Johnson became the first leader of a major world power to announce on Friday that he had tested positive for the virus. His health minister, Matt Hancock, has also tested positive and the chief medical advisor to the government, Chris Whitty, is self-isolating.
Cummings had been seen leaving Downing Street soon after Johnson confirmed that he had tested positive.
Last week, the advisor refuted a newspaper article that said that he had prioritized herd immunity and the economy in the coronavirus crisis, at the cost of the life of pensioners.
Initially, Britain followed a cautious approach to controlling the disease outbreak relative to its European counterparts, such as Italy and France.
However, when estimates showed a quarter of a million people could potentially die, Johnson implemented tight controls. He is now in Downing Street, isolating himself.
