Health Secretary Matt Hancock stumbled through an excruciating series of interviews on Monday as he tried to bat away questions about why the prime minister was not wearing a mask during a meeting with an MP who later tested positive for coronavirus.
A photograph of the Downing Street meeting between Boris Johnson and Lee Anderson on Thursday appeared to show the pair closer than two metres apart.
Anderson, MP for Ashfield and Eastwood, began experiencing symptoms of coronavirus the day after and tested positive for the virus at the weekend, prompting Johnson to begin a 14 day period of self-isolation during a pivotal week for Brexit negotiations.
When asked if more care should be taken when dealing with someone as important as the prime minister, Hancock told Times Radio: “Well, we are very careful.
“For instance, probably more often than not, when I see the prime minister I see him by Zoom. But also, we meet in a work environment or face-to-face.
“I think the important thing is that everybody has to follow these rules and the prime minister is no exception.
“I think it demonstrates that this virus can catch us all and we’ve all got to be careful.”
He said Anderson’s Covid-19 test was turned around “very rapidly”.
“It’s not easy for anybody to follow if you have to self-isolate, but it’s working effectively to keep people safe and that’s what it’s all about really,” he added.
Speaking to Sky News’ Kay Burley, Hancock attempted to change the subject by explaining he usually meets with Johnson – who was in intensive care after contracting the virus coronavirus earlier this year – via the online meeting service Zoom.
She asked: “Why on earth are they not wearing masks? As a result our prime minister is incapacitated on what could be one of the most important weeks ever for Brexit.”
Hancock replied: “I’ve absolutely no doubt the prime minister will be able to drive the agenda forward and communicate with the public in the way that he does normally but just differently because it will be by video conference and not face to face because he’s self-isolating.”
Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said the rules that mean Boris Johnson has to self-isolate “probably are sensible”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there have been more than 25 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reinfection globally, but added: “I think most of us think the rate of reinfection is quite a lot higher than that, but not enormous.”
“If we’ve learnt anything since the beginning of 2020, it’s that this is an incredibly infectious and scary virus and you can’t take it too seriously.
“So all the things that we know about – using masks, well-ventilated work spaces – following those rules really matter. And if you’ve got one take-home message from a reinfection discussion, it’s not to be blase because you’ve had it or you think you’ve had it.”