UK health minister announces she has coronavirus
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British Conservative politician Nadine Dorries has become the first member of Parliament to test positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Dorries, who is also a health minister, said she is now quarantined at home and her office has been closed. On Tuesday night, she tweeted her thanks for "so many good wishes. It's been pretty rubbish, but I hope I'm over the worst of it now." She also shared she is "more worried" about her 84-year-old mother who is staying with her and has started to cough. "She is being tested tomorrow," Dorries said. "Keep safe and keep washing those hands, everyone."
British media is reporting that over the last week, Dorries attended a reception with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and has interacted with hundreds of people in Parliament. There are 382 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, and six people have died.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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