UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma had a face-to-face meeting with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak the day before displaying symptoms of Covid-19 in the Commons, it has been confirmed.
The Prime Minister may have to self-isolate if Sharma tests positive for coronavirus, Downing Street said.
Johnson’s official spokesman said the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak held a 45-minute socially distanced meeting on the economy with Sharma at Number 10 on Tuesday.
The spokesman added that the PM would follow medical advice if spoken to by contact tracers who would begin their work if Sharma's test for Covid-19 comes back positive.
The UK Government was not reconsidering its move to end virtual voting in the Commons, the spokesman insisted, despite the Business Secretary appearing visibly ill in the chamber yesterday.
The spokesman commented: "He does not yet have his test results. Should the Secretary of State receive a positive test then he will work with the test and trace service to share information about his recent interactions.
"He did attend a meeting in No 10, which took place before Cabinet. That was a discussion on the economy and in terms of who was present, it was the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Business Secretary."
He stressed the meeting took place with two-metre distancing in place and pointed towards the Government guidelines on how the tracers operate, which include asking individuals whether they had been to a workplace recently.
The spokesman confirmed that even those who have had Covid-19 must isolate and, when pressed on whether the PM would self-isolate if told to, he said: "I would expect us to take medical advice and to follow it."
Business Secretary Alok Sharma wiped his face several times with a handkerchief and appeared to struggle as he spoke about the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill in the Commons pic.twitter.com/ysQ5RPF9lR
— George Ryan 🏳️🌈 (@GeorgeMRyan) June 3, 2020
READ MORE: Tories face furious backlash over Commons farce after minister falls ill
Contact tracers in are asking infected individuals who they have come into recent contact with. Tracers will then decide whether it is necessary to tell those contacts to self-isolate for 14 days from their last contact with the individual.
Sharma was tested for Covid-19 and entered self-isolation after he was seen mopping his brow while struggling at the despatch box during the second reading of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill.
The feared case of Covid-19 in the chamber came a day after MPs approved the Government's plan to end virtual voting in the Commons, prompting renewed calls for the system to return.
MPs on Thursday will debate a motion from Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg to allow those who are shielding and those aged over 70 to vote by proxy, in a move Labour dubbed a "U-turn" and described as "chaotic".
Senior Conservatives, opposition groups and the equalities watchdog raised concerns the decision to end digital voting would prevent many representatives, particularly the elderly and vulnerable ones who are shielding, from being able to vote.
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