BORIS Johnson flouted his own rules on coronavirus before testing positive for Covid-19.

The Prime Minister released a video on social media on Friday saying that he was suffering from mild coronavirus symptoms.

Earlier this month, Johnson boasted that he had visited a hospital with people who had been diagnosed with the virus and had shook hands with them.

He said at the time that he’d continue to do so.

READ MORE: Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus

He said during a Downing Street press conference: “I am shaking hands.

“I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were coronavirus patients and I was shaking hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.

“People must make up their own minds but I think the scientific evidence is … our judgment is that washing your hands is the crucial thing.”

WATCH: Lancet editor slams Tories clapping NHS as 'hypocrisy'

Earlier in the month, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has also tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, said that “the impact of shaking hands is negligible and what really matters is that you wash your hands more often”.

READ MORE: Health Secretary Matt Hancock tests positive for coronavirus

As late as last week, Boris Johnson was holding press conferences while in proximity to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and several other senior figures.

Earlier this week, after Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson could be seen in a huddle of MP next to the Speaker of the House’s chair, as shown by one Twitter user.

The National:

The death toll across the UK as a result of coronavirus now stands at 759, a rise of 181, with 33 of those deaths in Scotland.

It is the sharpest daily increase yet and 11,658 people in the UK have now been diagnosed with the virus.