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Boris Johnson tests negative for Covid since shaking hands with infected minister, No 10 says

Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeted Brazil health minister Marcelo Queiroga (PA Wire)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeted Brazil health minister Marcelo Queiroga (PA Wire)

Boris Johnson has returned a negative test after coming into contact with a positive coronavirus case during his US trip, No 10 has said.

Brazil’s health minister Marcelo Queiroga has confirmed via social media he has tested positive for Covid and is in isolation, only 24 hours after being filmed shaking hands with the Prime Minister in New York on Monday.

He was part of the delegation when Mr Johnson met Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on the fringes of the United Nations general assembly (UNGA).

Asked on Wednesday whether Mr Johnson had taken a Covid-19 test or any other precautions since Mr Queiroga’s announcement, Downing Street initially only emphasised that the UK leader was fully vaccinated.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman later told reporters in the US Mr Johnson had since returned a negative result.

Asked if he had been tested since the meeting on Monday, the spokesman said: “Yes, and it was negative.”

No 10 said there were “strict Covid measures in place at UNGA” which were being adhered to by the Prime Minister.

During the UK-Brazil talks on Monday, Mr Queiroga was pictured sitting away from Mr Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss who also attended.

He wore a mask but neither the Prime Minister nor Ms Truss did.

Mr Queiroga shared an image on social media last month confirming he was vaccinated against Covid-19, unlike his leader Mr Bolsonaro.

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