Health minister and Consevative MP Nadine Dorries has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first member of the British Parliament to catch the deadly virus.
“I can confirm I have tested positive for Coronavirus,” the junior health minister said in a statement Wednesday that was released by the Health Department. “As soon as I was informed I took all the advised precautions and have been self-isolating at home.”
Dorries attended a reception for International Women’s Day with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his fiance, and several other MPs in Downing Street on Thursday, the same day she began to show symptoms.
Officials are now working to track down those who may have had contact with Dorries, and have advised Labour MP Rachael Maskell to self-quarantine. Maskell said she is no showing symptoms so far.
“It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now,” Dorries said on Twitter, adding that she was “more worried” about her 84-year-old mother, who has begun coughing and will be tested for the virus.
The United Kingdom has a total of 382 cases of people infected with the virus, and six people have died after contracting it.
Johnson on Monday announced £46 million ($59 million) in funding to combat the coronavirus, a respiratory illness that originated in China. The virus has claimed more than 4,300 lives globally and has infected over 121,000 people, including over 1,000 in the U.S., which has seen at least 31 deaths.