Westminster is abuzz this morning not with anticipation for Rishi Sunak’s first Budget but over the news that Nadine Dorries has become the first UK politician to contract the coronavirus. The health minister began to feel unwell at the end of last week before showing symptoms relating to the coronavirus – dry cough, high fever and chest pains – at the weekend. She has since tested positive for the disease and self-isolated. However, before doing so, Dorries was in contact with hundreds of people including fellow politicians at a No. 10 reception the Prime Minister hosted on Thursday, health officials and constituents in a surgery on Saturday.
While Dorries believes she is now on the mend, the case has inevitably raised questions over the government’s current approach to the virus as well as the immediate repercussions for Westminster. The Department of Health is tracking those who may have been in recent contact with Dorries.
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