HEALTH MINISTER HAS VIRUS

++ Nadine Dorries struck down after No10 reception ++ Scots health chief warns of ‘escalation’ measures ++ Death toll rises

A UK health minister has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Nadine Dorries has met hundreds of people in Parliament over the past week and attended a reception at No10 with Boris Johnson.

Miss Dorries, who fell ill on Friday, also held a surgery on Saturday for 50 of her constituents.

Tests confirmed last night that the 62-year-old had the virus and she is now in isolation and said to be recovering.

Officials are tracing everyone she has been in contact with. It came as Scots were warned they are facing drastic quarantine measures similar to those that have put Italy in lockdown.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman yesterday warned coronavirus is a ‘progressing and escalating challenge’ that will cost lives – and ‘no measure has been ruled

out’ to help prevent its spread. It comes as the number of infected Scots rose by four to 27, while Italy’s COVID-19 death toll soared by 168 in only 24 hours, to a total of 631.

The country is in lockdown, with Italians threatened with jail if they are found on the streets without a valid reason.

Meanwhile, new Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today pledge billions to shore up the economy during the coronavirus outbreak, with measures to ensure solid businesses are not bankrupted by the crisis. His first Budget has been rewritten in response to the health crisis.

Yesterday, the number of confirmed cases in the UK jumped by 54 to 373 – with a sixth death.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today chair another meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee.

It will discuss whether the UK needs to formally switch from trying to contain the virus to trying to delay the outbreak of a full-blown epidemic. On another chaotic day:

■ Miss Freeman said Scotland’s NHS would roll out video appointments for patients, to allow them to self-isolate;

■ Student nurses and doctors will be drafted in, with the number of intensive care beds to double;

■ Thousands of Britons were effectively left stranded in Italy after British Airways cancelled all flights – and other major airlines followed suit;

■ A row erupted in Britain over the screening of passengers arriving on the few remaining flights from Italy;

■ As Sainsbury’s began rationing some items, it was reported that the Army may be called in to deliver food to supermarkets under contingency plans;

■ It emerged the Queen has decided to stop shaking hands with members of the public for the foreseeable future as a matter of ‘personal preference’.

So far, all patients in Scotland with the virus have either travelled from an affected country or have been in contact with someone who has the infection.

But it is predicted that this will change, with cases expected to begin spreading in communities, triggering tougher measures to reduce the outbreak.

Yesterday, Miss Freeman said: ‘Our goal is to protect life, not least those of the most vulnerable in our society.

‘The timing of moving to the delay phase, and what measures are judged to be the most effective in that phase, are driven very firmly by scientific and clinical advice. Understandably, people will be looking to the situation in other countries and questioning why some of the moves they are taking are not being made here yet in Scotland or in the UK.

‘No measure has been ruled out and the actions we take may develop over time as we seek to manage the impact of the infection and protect life.’

Miss Freeman spoke out as the number of Scots infected rose to 27, including a Shell worker in Aberdeen and a father in Edinburgh. George Heriot’s School in the capital wrote to parents after a parent tested positive following a trip to Italy.

He is now self-isolating and his children are being kept off school for two weeks. The school remains open.

Elsewhere, RBS and NatWest revealed that families affected by the virus could be eligible for a three-month ‘mortgage holiday’. The move was welcomed by the PM, who is keen to see firms ‘thinking about what they can do to help with the national effort’.

HOUSEHOLDS hit by the coronavirus outbreak could be eligible for mortgage ‘holidays’ of up to three months, it emerged yesterday.

NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank – which are part of the same statebacked group – confirmed they may defer the mortgage repayments of customers who fall into financial difficulty.

Those eligible could include small business owners who have suffered a slump in income, and self-employed workers who are forced to self-isolate at home.

With growing fears the outbreak could hammer the UK economy, NatWest said it was ‘monitoring the potential impact of coronavirus across all our customers to ensure we can support them appropriately through any period of disruption’.

Stressing that all applications for a mortgage holiday will be looked at on a case by case basis, the bank added: ‘We understand that there may be circumstances where a personal customer may fall into financial difficulty as a result of the impacts of coronavirus, for instance, loss of income.’

As Italy suspended mortgage repayments and households bills while the country is locked down, NatWest pledged £5billion of funding to provide loan repayment holidays of up to six months for struggling small firms as well as short-term emergency loans with no fees.

TSB said it would offer a reprieve of up to two months, waive penalties to enable customers to dip into their savings and increase credit limits on credit cards.

Britain’s biggest lender Lloyds Banking Group – which includes Lloyds and Halifax – said it would offer ‘payment holidays’ on mortgages and loans to those who needed it. It will also ditch fees for missed payments on credit cards, loans and mortgages for struggling customers.

Lloyds pledged £2billion of new loans for small firms to help those with cashflow problems cope with the virus.

Although Santander did not explicitly pledge to offer mortgage holidays, it said it would consider deferring or reducing repayments on a case by case basis.

But Barclays indicated it did not offer mortgage holidays. Instead, it said homeowners who fell behind on their mortgage could apply to have penalty charges removed so they can raid their savings accounts or apply for a temporary increase on their credit limit.

Lenders stressed that this type of assistance is available for customers in financial difficulty for any reason, not just the coronavirus.

Banks have come under pressure to support struggling businesses and households. The industry was heavily criticised during the financial crisis for allowing companies to go to the wall by starving them of vital loans. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil measures in today’s Budget to prop up small firms hit by the outbreak.

These could include setting up a ‘hardship fund’ to provide them with emergency cash and encouraging banks to lend by underwriting cheap loans.

There are fears that many households and businesses will be squeezed if officials advise anyone with a cold to stay at home for a week to help slow the spread of coronavirus. Although employers have to offer sick pay to workers who self-isolate, there are fears that freelance and contract workers will not get paid.

Among those hardest hit by the outbreak include business owners in the hospitality industry.

Airline staff are being temporarily laid off as thousands of flights are cancelled. Norwegian Air, which flies from several UK airports, yesterday said it would temporarily lay off cabin crew after axing 3,000 flights between now and mid-June.