Coronavirus: UK Health Minister tests positive

UK Health Minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries hadsaid she has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Dorries, the first MP to test positive, said she had taken all the advised precautions after finding out and had been self-isolating at home.

It comes as a sixth person who died from the virus in the UK, which has a total of 382 cases. The latest person to die was a man in his early 80s who had underlying health conditions.

The British Medical Association said routine monitoring oflong-term health conditions might have to stop to enable GPs to "focus onthe sickest patients".

Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said in a statement thatPublic Health England had started tracing people she had had contact with, andthe department and her parliamentary office were closely following its advice.

She later tweeted that it had been "pretty rubbish butI hope I'm over the worst of it now". But she added she was worried abouther 84-year-old mother who was staying with her and began to cough on Tuesday.

It is not known how many meetings Dorries had attended atWestminster or in her constituency in recent days. She was at a Downing Streetreception hosted by Boris Johnson last Thursday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted that she had"done the right thing" by self-isolating at home and wished "herwell 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 possiblescience."