Now two MPs are forced to ‘self-isolate’
A CORONAVIRUS scare near Westminster has caused two Labour MPs to quarantine themselves after being warned they may have been infected.
Backbenchers Alex Sobel and Lilian Greenwood were among 250 delegates at a conference attended by one of the nine people diagnosed with the virus in the UK.
Both have cancelled public engagements until next week as a precaution – with Mr Sobel declaring he had even self-isolated while waiting for advice.
On Thursday, health officials sent a letter to all those who had attended the UK Bus Summit at the QEII Centre on February 6 warning that a delegate had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
It advised attendees to take action and contact the NHS should they develop symptoms such as a fever or a cough.
The patient has not been identified but is understood to have been in contact with the super-spreader Steve Walsh in Brighton.
The infected patient is not believed to be the first British victim of coronavirus, who turned up unannounced at a London hospital in an Uber taxi after falling ill.
Mr Sobel, MP for Leeds North West, yesterday confirmed he had self-isolated himself until he had been
assessed by NHS 111. However, his spokesman later confirmed he was no longer doing so after being established as low-risk. He added: ‘He will stay away from public engagements as a precautionary measure.’
Miss Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South, had spoken at the bus and transport industry summit.
She tweeted yesterday: ‘I’m feeling completely well but to be extra cautious I’m cancelling my public engagements until 20th February. Sorry for any inconvenience.’
Transport minister Baroness Charlotte Vere had also been at the conference venue, which is opposite the Houses of Parliament.