Sajid Javid tests positive for Covid after having two jabs as fears he could spark Downing Street ‘pingdemic’ grow

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has revealed he is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus.

Mr Javid said he was feeling unwell and had taken a lateral flow test which was positive. He added that he is fully vaccinated and his symptoms are mild.

His diagnosis has sparked fears of a Downing Street “pingdemic” - with insiders suggesting “half the Cabinet” could be isolating by the end of the week due to Mr Javid.

The 51-year-old Health Secretary revealed his diagnosis on Saturday morning after ‘feeling groggy’ on Friday evening, tweeting that he was suffering ‘mild’ symptoms and had been double vaccinated.

Later on Saturday, Mr Javid said a PCR test confirmed he has coronavirus.

Mr Javid said in a tweet: “My positive result has now been confirmed by PCR test, so I will continue to isolate and work from home.”

Test and trace rules mean that anyone who has come into close contact with Mr Javid could now be forced into a 10-day self isolation, as it was claimed Boris Johnson held a ‘lengthy’ meeting with Sajid in Downing Street just hours before his symptoms developed

Posting a video on Twitter, he said: “This morning I tested positive for Covid. I’m waiting for my PCR result, but thankfully I have had my jabs and symptoms are mild.

“Please make sure you come forward for your vaccine if you haven’t already.”

In the video, Mr Javid urged anyone who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19 to come forward to get a jab.

"I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in our national vaccine rollout programme, truly the best of its kind anywhere in the world,” he said.

"If you haven't had your jabs yet, please get out there and get them as soon as you can.

"If everyone plays their part, you're not only protecting yourself and your loved ones but you're also safeguarding the NHS and helping to preserve our way of life."

Mr Javid’s positive result comes after he recently visited a care home in London earlier this week.

The health secretary paid a visit to the Aashna House care home in Streatham on Tuesday where he met Smita Bhatt, the care home manager, and the rest of the executive team and carers. He also met residents while they were taking part in activities.

He also attended the chamber of the House of Commons on Wednesday to open the debate on the Health and Social Care Bill, though it is not clear whether he was infected at that point.

He was then pictured leaving No 10 after a long meeting with Boris Johnson on Friday.

A source told The Independent that the pair held face-to-face talks, meaning the Prime Minister could soon join hundreds of thousands of Britons in being confirmed to his home.

“I don’t see how half the Cabinet doesn’t end up in isolation by the end of the week,” one government source told The Telegraph.

Mr Javid was made health secretary in June following Matt Hancock’s resignation after he was caught kissing aide Gina Coladangelo.

His announcement comes as the Government prepares to go ahead with the final lifting of lockdown restrictions in England on Monday.

The Liberal Democrats said that Mr Javid’s positive test underlined the case for Government to rethink its plans.

Health spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: “This shows no-one is safe from this deadly virus.

“By easing all restrictions with cases surging, they are experimenting with people’s lives.

“Right now, they are pursuing a strategy of survival of the fittest, where the young and clinically vulnerable will be left defenceless.”

However, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned that the Government may have to reimpose lockdown restrictions if Covid cases continue to rise over the summer and into the autumn.

Mr Hunt, who is now chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, said the situation was “very serious”.

“The warning light on the NHS dashboard is not flashing amber, it is flashing red,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“Covid hospital patients are doubling every two weeks. That means we are heading for 10,000 Covid hospital patients by the end of August, which is about 20 times higher than this time last year. It is a very serious situation.

“I think coming into September we are almost certainly going to see infections reach a new daily peak going above the 68,000 daily level, which was the previous daily record in January.

“If they are still going up as the schools are coming back I think we are going to have to reconsider some very difficult decisions. How we behave over the next few weeks will have a material difference.”

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