Coronavirus: Health minister Nadine Dorries tests positive for COVID-19

Health minister Nadine Dorries has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating.

She is the first MP in the UK to be diagnosed with COVID-19, as the virus spread further on Tuesday.

A sixth person in the country has died and the total number of confirmed cases is 382 – up by 54 in the last day.

Ms Dorries, the minister in charge of patient safety, said in a statement: “I can confirm I have tested positive for coronavirus.

“As soon as I was informed I took all the advised precautions and have been self-isolating at home.

“Public Health England (PHE) has started detailed contact tracing and the department and my parliamentary office are closely following their advice.

“I would like to thank PHE and the wonderful NHS staff who have provided me with advice and support.”

She added in a tweet: “It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now. More worried about my 84yo mum who is staying with me and began with the cough today. She is being tested tomorrow.”

The MP first exhibited symptoms on Thursday – the same day she attended a Downing Street event hosted by Boris Johnson to mark International Women’s Day, said a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Number 10 did not comment on whether the prime minister had undergone testing for the coronavirus, or whether he will now be tested.

Ms Dorries was also in the House of Commons on 4 March.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “really sorry” to hear the news but that “she has done the right thing by self-isolating at home”.

He added: “We all wish her well as she recovers.

“I understand why people are worried about this disease. We will do all we can to keep people safe, based on the best possible science.”

In other coronavirus developments:

• A sixth person has died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, with confirmed cases rising to 382
• NHS in England is planning to “ramp up” testing facilities so 10,000 coronavirus tests can be performed each day
• Manchester City’s Premier League fixture at home to Arsenal tonight is postponed
• Coachella and its country music cousin Stagecoach are pushed back until October
• A man is pulled out from the rubble of a collapsed quarantine hotel in China nearly three days after the disaster
• South Korea reports 242 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total infections to 7,755
• UN weather agency chief says decreased energy use due to the coronavirus is improving air quality in China

A DHSC spokeswoman said Ms Dorries, 62, has been self-isolating at home since Friday.

Officials have begun the process of getting in touch with everyone Ms Dorries has come into contact with since displaying symptoms.

The DHSC spokeswoman initially said all health ministers including Health Secretary Matt Hancock were to undergo testing for the virus, but later retracted the statement.

A government source said officials and MPs should continue to go to work in Whitehall and Parliament unless told otherwise.

“CMO (Chief Medical Officer) advice is that no one needs to self-isolate or be tested unless asked to by the PHE contact tracers who are working round the clock,” the source said.

After Ms Dorries’ diagnosis, a Parliament spokesman said there were still no plans to suspend parliament to prevent the spread of the virus.

Hannah Bardell, an SNP MP, said that would be tough as “Westminster by its nature means we’re all corralled in there together at close proximity”.

She added: “It’s possibly one of the most germ infested unhealthy places I’ve ever worked.”

Ms Dorries has voted twice in the House of Commons in the past week, according to parliamentary records – likely meaning she has been in close contact with hundreds of other MPs.

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Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby said that “as a health minister in contact with other health ministers and officials the obvious question is whether there has been wider transmission in Department of Health team”.

“I understand Matt Hancock is in good health and not displaying any symptoms,” she added.

Politicians from across the political divide sent messages wishing Ms Dorries a swift recovery.

Labour shadow cabinet member Luke Pollard tweeted: “Politics should not get in the way of being decent human beings to one another.”

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(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Health minister Nadine Dorries tests positive for COVID-19