Now a Cabinet minister put in virus isolation
Fear over ‘close contact’ with stricken Dorries
‘I was jammed in a lobby with hundreds of MPs’
A CABINET minister was last night put into isolation over fears they have coronavirus.
The unnamed minister was tested for the virus yesterday after it emerged they had come into close contact with health minister Nadine Dorries, who tested positive at the weekend.
The minister is thought to be one of five MPs who are self-isolating and being tested following contact with Miss Dorries. The others are health minister Ed Argar, Tory MP Charles Walker, Labour MP Rachael Maskell and another Labour MP.
It came as MPs raised concerns that they could spread coronavirus across the country.
Officials yesterday ruled out shutting down the Houses of Parliament amid fears such a move could spark national panic.
But it emerged more than 100 people – including Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds – were at a Downing Street reception attended by Miss Dorries last week.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and International Trade Secretary Liz Truss were guests at the International Women’s Day reception on Thursday, the day the health minister started to show signs of the virus.
No 10 said Mr Johnson had not come into close contact with Miss Dorries at the function and insisted there were no plans to test him or Miss Symonds.
But the Daily Mail has learnt that Foreign
Secretary Dominic Raab has been tested following concerns that he had symptoms.
Mr Raab was put into isolation for a day before he embarked on a tour of the Middle East last week, but after he was given the all- clear he returned to work and his trip went ahead as planned.
Health officials are trying to trace people who came into close contact with Miss Dorries, a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity... in 2012. The Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire sent a message to the Tory MPs’ WhatsApp group asking them to come forward if they were near her in Parliament, admitting it was ‘hard to remember everyone’.
She told colleagues: ‘My staff member has gone down with it too.
‘If you sat next to me in the tea room or library etc please let me know.’
In a statement to the Commons last night, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the authorities had ‘resolved that we will keep Parliament open’.
He told MPs: ‘Of course, in some ways this House may have to function differently, but the ability to hold the Government to account and to legislate are as vital in a time of emergency as in normal times – our democracy is the foundation of our way of life.’
Mr Hancock said the Government will continue to work closely with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Lord Speaker and the authorities in both Houses in the coming days and weeks.
He added: ‘The public will expect Parliament to sit and to get on with its job. Our approach will be guided by the best scientific evidence and medical advice and we will take all necessary measures to deal with this outbreak.’
But some MPs called for Parliament to take steps such as introducing electronic voting to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
SNP MP Carol Monaghan said: ‘Twice [on Tuesday] I was jammed into a voting lobby with hundreds of other MPs. How many of us will now be taking this virus back to our constituencies?’ Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy added: ‘As we continue to meet hundreds of people weekly, I am concerned that we are potentially spreading the virus. I am genuinely concerned about older members of this
House, older people in our constituencies and those with underlying health conditions.’
A Commons source said: ‘Everything is being guided by Public Health England. At the moment they see no problem with Parliament functioning as it is and as long as they think that, we will continue.
‘People very much expect us to be in lockstep with the rest of the nation, they do not expect one rule for us and another for everyone else.’
Yesterday, vile critics of Miss Dorries were rejoicing at the news that she has coronavirus.
Jeremy Corbyn supporter Beth Redmond said on Twitter: ‘Who coughed on Nadine Dorries? Want to buy you a pint.’