Coronavirus live: Boris Johnson says he only ‘briefly’ considered not isolating after Covid contact

British prime minister and chancellor U-turn as Sunak says ‘I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren’t the same for everyone is wrong’

3.37pm BST

Boris Johnson says he only looked “briefly into the idea” of avoiding self-isolation through a daily contact testing pilot after being pinged by NHS test and trace.

After announcing he would isolate following contact with Sajid Javid, who has tested positive for Covid-19, the prime minister addressed criticism of his previous plan in a video on Twitter.

We did look briefly into the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows people to test daily, but I think it’s far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules.

That’s why I’m going to be self-isolating until the 26 July.

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

3.34pm BST

Britain’s Covid vaccination programme for children could initially be restricted to those with underlying health conditions or who are about to turn 18, a government minister has suggested.

Robert Jenrick said children aged 12 or over who live with vulnerable people would also be at the front of the queue if ministers give the green light to vaccinating under-18s. The Department of Health said no decision had yet been reached.

We will be looking carefully at their advice when we receive it – we expect it very soon – on whether or not we should open up the vaccine programme in the first instance to children who are just short of their 18th birthday, to those children who have particular vulnerabilities, and those children who are in households where there are people who are particularly vulnerable.

That seems like a sensible way for us to proceed but ministers will need to make that decision when they’re armed with the final advice from the JCVI, our expert advisers, and I expect that we will be receiving that advice very soon.

Related: UK children about to turn 18 could be first in Covid vaccine queue

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Source: The Guardian