UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock both tested positive for coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.
It comes after the UK government’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has said he is self-isolating after experiencing symptoms of coronavirus last night.
Prof. Chris Whitty has led the UK’s medical response and appears in the government’s public information films. Known symptoms of the virus include a persistent dry cough and a raised temperature.
PM Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus after displaying “mild” symptoms.
He is continuing to work in his Downing Street office although he will not be taking part in March 27 daily government briefing.
Boris Johnson’s fiancée, Carrie Symonds, who is several months pregnant, is self-isolating elsewhere.
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A total of 759 people have now died of the coronavirus in the UK, while 14,579 have tested positive.
The death toll jumped by 181 on March 27 – a rise of 31% – making it the biggest rise in deaths that the country has seen so far, surpassing March 26’s record of 115.
In England, patients were aged between 29 and 98 years old.
According to health officials, all but four patients, aged between 82 and 91 years old, had underlying health conditions.
The UK has the seventh highest number of recorded deaths in the world after Italy, Spain, China, Iran, France and the US.