Covid: Michael Gove alerted by NHS Test and Trace after Champions League trip
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Michael Gove poses for picture with Chelsea fans at the Champions League final
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has been alerted by NHS Test and Trace to say he had come into contact with someone with coronavirus.
The senior Conservative had recently returned from Portugal after supporting Chelsea in the Champions League final.
Instead of self isolating for 10 days, Mr Gove will take daily Covid tests as part of a pilot scheme designed, external to measure testing effectiveness.
The exercise is aimed at finding safe alternatives to self-isolation.
The Cabinet Office earlier confirmed reports that Mr Gove had been alerted by the NHS Covid app.
A spokesman for Mr Gove, who had travelled to Porto with his teenage son, said: "He has followed Covid-19 regulations and guidance at all times and will continue to do so."
Under the pilot scheme, people contacted by Test and Trace are required to take lateral flow tests each morning for seven days.
As long as they test negative they will be able to leave their home "to carry out essential activity".
Up to 40,000 people are expected to be given tests as part of the study.
Downing Street is one of the workplaces taking part in the scheme, which launched on 9 May 2021. The Department of Health has yet to confirm how many other workplaces are in the pilot scheme.
The daily Covid test scheme is an extension of the workplace testing that previously ran as a pilot. It may be extended to people with the NHS Test and Trace app in future.
Michael Gove attended a meeting with the prime minister and leaders of the devolved nations on Thursday
After being notified by Test and Trace on Thursday - four days after he returned from Portugal - Mr Gove left a meeting he was attending with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak in Downing Street.
The three men had been discussing ways of recovering from the pandemic with the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with the prime minister via video link.
Mr Gove on a return flight to the UK following Chelsea's victory in the Champions League final
Mr Gove's spokesperson said: "The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is participating in the daily contact testing programme after being advised to isolate today (Thursday) by NHS Test and Trace."
The Champions League football final between Chelsea and Manchester City took place in Porto on 29 May, with 6,000 fans from each club able to attend.
One Chelsea fan, who wished to remain anonymous, was on the same flight as Mr Gove. He told the BBC he received a text via Test and Trace on Thursday saying he had been exposed to the virus on the Sunday and should self-isolate for 10 days.
He added that he had heard of other football fans who had also been told to self-isolate after returning from Portugal.
Labour's shadow sports minister Alison McGovern suggested it was unfair that, unlike Mr Gove, fans had to fully self-isolate asking "doesn't that sound like one rule for him and one rule for everybody else?"
At the time of the game Portugal had been on England's green list, meaning fans could attend without having to quarantine on their return.
However, the UK government has announced it would be relegating Portugal to the amber list on Tuesday, following a doubling of infection rates since the previous travel review.