COVID-19: UK Prime Minister announces result of fresh test

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested negative for coronavirus, but will complete 14 days of self-isolation because of contact with an infected person.

Johnson’s office said the prime minister was tested using a lateral flow test – a quick test that doesn’t need to be processed in a lab.

The tests are not widely available in the UK, but the government said staff in the prime minister’s office could get them as part of a pilot project.

Johnson was told to self-isolate on Sunday after a lawmaker with whom he had met three days earlier tested positive for coronavirus.

The prime minister said he has no symptoms and will continue to lead the government, holding meetings using videoconferencing.

Government rules say people in close contact with an infected person must quarantine for two weeks.

Johnson was seriously ill with coronavirus in April, spending three nights in intensive care.

People who recover from the virus are thought to have some immunity, but it’s unclear how long it lasts.

There have been a small number of confirmed cases worldwide of people becoming re-infected with the virus.