UK's Labour leader self-isolates after staff member tested positive for coronavirus

LONDON -- Britain's Labour leader Keir Starmer has to self-isolate again after a member of his staff tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson said Saturday.

"Keir is well and not showing any symptoms. He will now be working from home," said the spokesperson for Starmer.

The Labour leader is expected to remain in quarantine until Dec. 16 after being contact with the staff member on Tuesday, Sky News reported.

Starmer went into self-isolation in September after one of his children showed symptoms. He went back to work later after the child tested negative for coronavirus.

The latest development came a week after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came out of his isolation after having had contact with an MP who tested positive for COVID-19.

England is currently under a new three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions that replaced the month-long national lockdown in England which ended Wednesday.

Under the new system, shops will be allowed to re-open across England, giving a Christmas bonanza to the struggling retail sector, but all bars and restaurants in the toughest Tier 3 areas will remain closed. The system put about 98 percent of England into the highest Tier 2 and 3,

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.