Boris Johnson continues Scotland trip despite positive official tests for Covid-19

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Downing Street sources confirmed that one employee had tested positive and was following “appropriate guidance”, but insisted the trip – which ended on Thursday – was in full compliance with Covid guidance. Downing Street said the prime minister had “not been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus”.

However, a source familiar with the trip told CNN that the person in question was with the prime minister for most of Wednesday in Glasgow, before boarding the plane to continue the tour in Aberdeen. The source added that the person was examined upon arrival in Aberdeen. Subsequently, the employee who tested positive, and some other members of his entourage, were isolated.

A Downing Street spokesperson told CNN that the prime minister “regularly visits communities across the UK and all aspects of visits are being implemented in line with Covid guidelines”.

According to the Scottish government, which sets its own rules on healthcare separately from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, close contacts of anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 will be required to self-isolate “for 10 days from the onset of symptoms in a person who shows symptoms”.

Close contact is defined as “a person who has been physically close enough to a confirmed case for a sufficiently long period of time, to whom the virus may have been transmitted.”

The Covid guidelines that apply in England, set by the Johnson government, state that “a person may also be in close contact if they have traveled in the same car or plane as the person who has tested positive for COVID-19.” The guidelines also state that on the plane, the “risk of transport is minimal at two metres”, which is easier to comply with on a large plane than on a car, which means that even on the plane Johnson did not come within two meters of the person who His test result came back positive.

It is not clear what criteria were applied to the officials who were asked to self-isolate. When asked why Johnson was not self-isolating, a Downing Street source said the prime minister had “pre-tested for travel to Scotland and had another PCR test” before visiting an offshore wind farm on the last day of his trip.

It is possible that Johnson will not have been in close contact with the employee who has tested positive, as precisely defined in the guidance. But in the past, the government has been criticized for not sticking to the broad thrust of the rules it sets.

Johnson’s visit was part of his long-term goal to show his personal support for Scotland’s survival in the United Kingdom and to fight the undercurrent in support of Scottish independence.

While Scots voted 55% to stay in the UK in 2014, Brexit and the pandemic have boosted support for a new referendum.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 62% of voters in Scotland were in favor of remaining in the EU. In the following years, Scottish nationalists built the argument that Scotland left the European Union against its will because of the voters in England. Johnson led the UK’s exit from the European Union campaign in 2016.

Despite Johnson’s stated affection for Scotland and his self-appointed role as Union Minister, he is a divisive figure in Scotland. Unionists wondered if he was the best person to advocate for Scotland to remain in the UK.

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