British Health Minister and conservative MP Nadine Dorries said Tuesday she's tested positive for coronavirus and has been self-isolating at home and is taking all advised precautions.
Her news comes after a sixth person died in the UK, where there is currently a total of 382 cases, reports the BBC. The last person who died was a man who was in his early 80s and had underlying health conditions.
Dorries said in a statement that as soon as she was informed of the diagnosis, she took "all the advised precautions," and Public Health England has started tracing her contacts.
"The department and my parliamentary office are closely following their advice," Dorries said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock posted comments on Twitter wishing Dorries "well as she recovers" and said she did the right thing by self-isolating at home.
"I understand why people are worried about this disease," he added. "We will do all we can to keep people safe, based on the best possible science."
Earlier on Tuesday, Dr. Jenny Harris, England's deputy chief medical officer, defended a decision to keep schools open and to delay other strict measures, saying experts are evaluating new cases hourly to achieve a "balanced response."
She also said she expects there will be increases in the cases in the UK in about 10-14 days, and advised people with flu-like symptoms to self-isolate.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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