Boris Johnson chairs 'first ever digital cabinet' in UK amid COVID-19 crisis

As UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been under self-isolation after being detected positive for deadly coronavirus, he headed the “first ever” digital cabinet with his ministers or "zoom meeting" on March 31. In a bid to stem the drastic spread of deadly COVID-19 which has already caused over 42,000 deaths worldwide, leaders are forced to take precautionary measures including social distancing. Johnson’s Conservative government has been urging citizens to “Stay Home Save Lives” as the number of coronavirus infections rises to 25,150 and casualties reach 1,789 in UK. 

Britain’s first-ever digital cabinet session was organised just days after United Nations met via video conference for the first time in its history. UN Security Council even approved four resolutions remotely on March 31. The coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 42,300 lives worldwide as of April 1. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 203 countries and has infected at least 859,770 people. Out of the total infections, 178,335 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling. 

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'Immunity Passports' in UK

In a bid to get back essential workforce in the office, scientists and politicians in the UK have suggested “immunity passports” for those individuals who have had coronavirus. German researchers are currently conducting a large scale study into how many citizens have had the COVID-19 infection and are now immune to the pathogen so that authorities would eventually exclude those workers from the restrictive measures that have currently taken a toll on businesses and economy around the world. 

The study by German researchers would involve testing of blood samples from at least 100,000 people with coronavirus infection and is scheduled to start in mid-April. The principle of these studies and the UK’s thought of issuing “immunity passports” lies in the presence of antibodies in an individual. That indicates whether the person is capable to fight the COVID-19 disease and it is apparently also an indicator that the individual had been a carrier of the disease in the past. However, the antibody tests for coronavirus which are strongly sought by most world leaders are currently battling with low productions.

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