Boris Johnson had to give his “Freedom Day” press conference from self-isolation in the English countryside in a humiliating blow to Tory plans to do away with covid lockdown.
The Prime Minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak were forced into self-isolation after contact with UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and all three top cabinet members must also spend the next week self-isolating.
Johnson was shamed by public fury out of an attempt to dodge the rules under the cover of a Downing Street pilot experiment allowing daily tests instead of self-isolation.
The Prime Minister appeared virtually from the Chequers estate in Buckinghamshire where he had spent the weekend after a Downing Street meeting with the infected Health Secretary.
Downing Street insisted the Prime Minister, who has tested negative for covid, had been in the spacious countryside retreat before being contacted by Test and Trace.
While he presented the press conference via video link the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance and Professor Jonathan Van Tam were in the Downing Street press centre.
Johnson brushed aside questions about his self-isolation and signalled that as England opened up covid passports proving double vaccination could be needed for entry to nightclubs and other crowded venues in future.
In the Commons Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, also said that from the end of September nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather would only be allowed to let in people who are fully vaccinated.
The UK government also said that it was preparing to vaccinate vulnerable children in the 12 to 17 year old age group, in a move likely to be replicated in Scotland.
Government scientific advisers are not currently advising routine vaccination of children outside of vulnerable groups.
Acknowledging his own situation, Johnson said people had to accept that increasing numbers would be required to self-isolate “as a consequence of living with Covid”.
The Prime Minister said: “I know how frustrating it is for all those who have been affected or pinged.”
But people identified as contacts were “at least five times more likely to be infected than others”.
“And so as we go forward I’m afraid that the continuing sacrifice of this large minority, those of us who have been asked to isolate, remains important to allow the rest of society to get back to something like normality.”
Professor Jonathan Van-Dam, the deputy chief medical officer, again urged people “not to tear the pants” out of the freedoms now available in England where there are now no restrictions on numbers meeting or a requirement to wear masks in public places.
With scientists warning of an increasing wave of infections the PM said he “hopes” the roadmap was irreversible but could not rule out restrictions coming back at some point.
He added: “The only way we can make the roadmap irreversible is by continuing to be cautious”.
