A maskless Boris Johnson has been making the rounds on social media as he attended a gathering of world leaders.
The prime minister appeared to be the only one not wearing a face covering, with people describing his actions as “discourteous at the very least”.
Positive case
The pictures have been shared after news broke that the PM had come into contact with a positive coronavirus case during his US trip.
Brazil’s health minister, Marcelo Queiroga, has confirmed via social media that 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 that 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.”
“Strict covid measures”
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.
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