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The Prime Minister's controversial chief advisor Dominic Cummings has gone into self-isolation after showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

A No 10 source confirmed that Mr Cummings developed symptoms over the weekend and is now self-isolating.

Mr Cumming was lasted spotted on Friday Cummings running away from Downing Street after news broke that Boris Johnson had coronavirus.

The Prime Minister's top aide was seen dashing out of the door of Number 10 as the news broke that his boss would be entering quarantine for 7 days.

Mr Johnson tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday and has been leading the government's response from his flat in No 11 Downing St since.

For the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, click here

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The heart of government has been struck by a series of recent high profile positive tests for Covid-19.

Alongside the PM, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty have tested positive and are self-isolating.

On Friday Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that goverment would not be disrupted and that the PM, CMO and Health Sec all continued to work from home.

He did say it showed that the virus was "indiscriminate".

From isolation, Mr Johnson has said the UK will get through the coronavirus crisis "together" after Britons were warned restrictions on their lives may last for at least six months.

The Prime Minister issued the words of encouragement, praising the 750,000 volunteers who have offered to assist the NHS, from within Downing Street where he is isolating having tested positive for Covid-19.

It comes as easyJet grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the pandemic, and researchers announced they have worked with Formula One to create a new breathing device for use in the NHS.

British Medical Association (BMA) council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul also called for Covid-19 testing to be rolled out to all healthcare staff quickly, in particular those in general practice.

The Government has said testing of NHS staff began this weekend, with roll-out across England from Monday.

On Sunday, England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said the nation will not be in "complete lockdown" for half a year but said social distancing measures will be lifted gradually.

Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said "we simply cannot and should not" ask health workers to go to the frontline without adequate protective equipment, as he announced the nation was put on an "emergency footing" in an "unprecedented step in peace time".

Dr Harries said the three-week reviews on the measures to slow the disease's spread are likely to continue for six months and their success would be judged on slowing its rate.

A sudden lifting, she said, could see the nation's sacrifices "wasted" with another spike in deaths, which have reached 1,228.

"We need to keep that lid on and then gradually we will be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us all back to normal," she said.

"Three weeks for review, two or three months to see if we've really squashed it, but three to six months, ideally, but lots of uncertainty in that but then to see at which point we can actually get back to normal and it is plausible it could go further than that."

In a video message from within his flat above No 11, the PM praised 20,000 former NHS staff who have returned to the service to tackle the pandemic.

And he chose to contradict the "there is no such thing as society" endorsement of pure individualism from his Conservative predecessor Margaret Thatcher.

"We are going to do it, we are going to do it together. One thing I think the coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society," Mr Johnson said.