Coronavirus: Two MPs axe engagements after attending same conference as COVID-19 patient

One of the people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK attended a conference near parliament last week along with about 250 other delegates – including two Labour MPs who have now cancelled all their public engagements.

The patient, who has not been named, attended the UK Bus Summit at Westminster’s QEII Centre in central London on 6 February.

The event was described as the “premier bus event covering all parts of the UK”.

Labour MP Alex Sobel revealed he was among the attendees after hearing about the presence of a coronavirus patient through media reports.

“Whilst I have been informed that I am at very low risk, I have called 111 to be formally assessed,” he posted on Twitter.

A spokesman for Mr Sobel said the politician spent the afternoon in isolation in a room in his office away from staff.

He added: “After receiving advice from 111 and being established as low risk, Alex will not remain in isolation, but will stay away from public engagements as a precautionary measure.”

Fellow Labour MP Lilian Greenwood also attended the conference.

She tweeted: “I’m feeling completely well but to be extra-cautious I’m cancelling my public engagements until 20th February. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

Speakers and attendees at the London event included “key decision makers in government from around the UK” as well as bus and coach industry representatives.

Among the speakers listed were buses minister, Baroness Vere; junior transport minister, Nusrat Ghani – who lost her job in this week’s government reshuffle; and various managing directors of bus firms.

The summit was organised by Transport Times, which emailed attendees on Thursday to inform them that a person suffering from COVID-19 – the disease which is caused by the coronavirus – had been at the event.

The Financial Times reported Transport Times sent the email on the instruction of Public Health England (PHE).

It also included a letter from PHE which told conference attendees to take no action if they were well but to stay indoors, avoid contact with others and call NHS 111 if they developed symptoms such as a fever or cough.

“While the degree of contact you may have had with the case at the summit is unlikely to have been significant, we are taking a precautionary approach and informing you,” the letter said, as reported by the newspaper.

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Dr Yimmy Chow, consultant in health protection at PHE, said: “One of our main priorities has been to identify any people who we think have been in close contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 to provide public health advice, as they may be at slightly increased risk of catching the virus.

“While the degree of contact conference delegates may have had with the case is unlikely to have been significant, we have taken a precautionary approach and informed them of the situation.”

It is said the case is not linked to the ninth patient with coronavirus in the UK – a woman from China who took an Uber to A&E after she developed symptoms.

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said on Thursday many more people in the UK may need to self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus.

A North Sea oil rig worker on the Tern Alpha platform off Scotland was placed in isolation on Friday as he was tested for COVID-19 after returning from holiday in Thailand with “minor symptoms”.

A Channel 4 employee is among those being tested in the UK for coronavirus after feeling unwell following a trip to Asia within the last month.

“As a precautionary measure they decided to seek medical advice and, in line with the latest public health advice regarding the coronavirus, they were taken to hospital for a precautionary test,” a Channel 4 spokesperson said.

“We have informed our staff of this and continue to follow all the latest public health guidance.”

There is now a total of 64,456 suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide.

Of these cases, 63,862 are in mainland China. There have been 1,384 deaths from COVID-19.

The figures have been collated by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

More than 1,700 Chinese medical workers have been infected by the virus.

Six of the workers have died, said Zeng Yixin, vice director of China’s National Health Commission.

Vietnam is monitoring more than 5,000 Chinese workers – who returned to the country after the Lunar New Year holiday – for signs of coronavirus, state media reported.

The southeast Asian country, which neighbours China, declared a public health emergency over the epidemic at the beginning of the month and has banned all flights to and from China.

Sixteen people in Vietnam have tested positive for the virus.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Two MPs axe engagements after attending same conference as COVID-19 patient