Coronavirus: Health minister diagnosed with Covid-19 says 84-year-old mother now infected

'She’s a pre war baby, doing ok. Made of strong stuff', junior health minister says

Nadine Dorries, the junior health minister who became the first MP to contract the Covid-19 coronavirus, has confirmed her mother has also been infected.

Ms Dorries confirmed on Tuesday she had tested positive for the virus, which has infected almost 800 people in the UK, and that officials were working to trace its further spread with senior politicians among the potential carriers.

Now the 62-year-old has confirmed on Twitter that her mother is among those to have caught the novel coronavirus which began its spread from Wuhan, China in December last year.

“We have had my 84-year-old Mum’s results through”, Ms Dorries wrote. “She tested positive. She’s a pre war baby, doing ok. Made of strong stuff.”

At the time she announced her own illness, the conservative politician wrote that she was concerned for the octogenarian who had been staying with her at the time of her illness and had “began with the cough”.

So far the virus, which was declared to be spreading at pandemic levels by the WHO earlier this week, has led to more than 5,400 deaths worldwide. Of those, 11 have been confirmed within the UK.

It comes as parliamentary officials announce new restrictions will be imposed in the Palace of Westminster - including limits on overseas travel by MPs and peers to keep Parliament functioning during the crisis.

The Government and MPs have resisted suggestions that Parliament should shut down, however commercial tours are being cancelled while MPs, peers and other passholders will be discouraged from bringing guests into the estate for social visits.

Members of the public will still be able to watch debates and attend select committee hearings.

In a joint statement, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lord Speaker Lord Fowler said: "We are resolved that Parliament should, insofar as possible, continue to fulfil its important constitutional duties of passing legislation, holding Government to account and, crucially, representing the views of the people of the United Kingdom and making their voice heard.

"In order to preserve the operation of Parliament, it is our duty to take proportionate and reasonable measures to reduce the risk to those who work on the parliamentary estate and those who have to visit.”

Additional reporting by PA