British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in self-quarantine at Chequers, his country home, where he was staying when he received word on Saturday that Health Minister Sajid Javid had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Both Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak were exposed to the virus and pledged to self-isolate in response to the alert.
Like so many people I've been pinged by NHS Test and Trace as I have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, and I will be self-isolating until Monday 26th July. pic.twitter.com/X57gDpwDqe
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson)
Johnson said he would isolate himself until Monday, July 26.
Yavneh College in the UK closed early ahead of the summer term after a “large” COVID-19 spike sent more than 250 students and staff into self-quarantine, The JC British Jewish newspaper reports.
Headteacher Spencer Lewis told parents in a letter that the Borehamwood secondary school would switch to remote learning for the remainder of this semester, which ends this coming Wednesday.
“As you will know, we have had a large number of positive Covid-19 cases among students and staff in the last few days resulting in well over 250 pupils and staff self-isolating,” Lewis wrote. “I am so very sorry that I have had to take this decision which is the last thing I wanted to do.”
The Delta variant is racing across the country as the British government urges all those who have not yet been inoculated to “get that jab.”
There were 53,969 new cases of the coronavirus diagnosed in Britain on Saturday, July 17, with the country’s seven-day average of new daily cases standing at 42,350. By early evening on Sunday, July 18, there were 38,161 positive coronavirus test results, which the site said indicated an increase of 43.4 percent in new daily cases compared to the previous seven days.
According to Public Health England, the UK government coronavirus data website, as of Sunday (July 18) there were 25 deaths from the virus within 28 days of a positive test result.
‘Between 12 July 2021 and 18 July 2021, there have been 283 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. This shows an increase of 39.4 percent compared to the previous 7 days,” the site noted.