Labour MP Kate Osborne becomes the second British politician to be diagnosed with coronavirus

A Labour backbencher announced today she had become the second British MP to contract coronavirus as another 16 self-isolated themselves.

Jarrow’s Kate Osborne made the announcement on Twitter as Parliament began to take steps to operate with fewer politicians present.

She followed Health Minister Nadine Dorries, 62, who is recovering at home after testing positive last week.

The Government has indicated that it wants the Commons to remain open with emergency legislation expected to be introduced on Thursday to give authorities more powers to deal with the pandemic. 

Ms Osborne, who has only been an MP since December, said her positive diagnosis came ‘following a period of self-isolation and subsequent testing.’

‘I will continue to self isolate until I have fought off the illness, but in the mean time I would encourage everyone to band together and support the most vulnerable in our communities,’ she said. 

Labour is now running a one-line whip, the lightest form of party vote discipline, allowing its politicians to stay away from the green benches if necessary. 

The Conservatives are expected to follow suit with a tacit agreement seemingly in place to avoid confrontations over legislation at a time of national emergency as much as possible.

A senior Labour source played down the prospect huge numbers of MPs will stay away, but said they are ensuring politicians ‘aren’t forced to vote on things that obviously don’t seem as important as before coronavirus’. 

The source said: ‘The country wants a grown up approach on this.’ 

Labour wants to ‘ensure that the Govt is held to account but in a way which reflects the circumstances we are in’. 

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for  Streatham in south London, became the latest MP to announce she was self-isolating this morning, having come down with coronavirus-like symptoms at the weekend.

Both she and Ms Osborne highlighted the official advice to stay at home for seven days if you have either a high temperature or a new, continuous cough. 

Ms Osborne, who worked for Royal Mail for the last 25 years, was elected to represent Jarrow in the 2019 election. 

She said she was still contactable and urged constituents to email either her or and her staff. 

Her diagnosis comes after Ms Dorries confirmed she had tested positive for the virus last week. 

And Cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Friday that she has tested negative for the virus, but would stay at home for seven days as a precaution. 

Ms Dorries said her immediate response to the diagnosis was to fear for the life of her 84-year-old mother who did subsequently test positive. 

She said she felt ‘iced water trickling down my spine’ when she had found out.  

Ms Dorries said last week that her mother, who lives with her, was ‘made of strong stuff’ and ‘doing ok’ after testing positive.

Ms Osborne made the announcement on Twitter this morning saying the diagnosis was ‘following a period of self-isolation and subsequent testing’

 Ms Osborne’s diagnosis comes after Health Minister Nadine Dorries confirmed she had tested positive for the disease last week

Kate Osborne highlighted the official advice to stay at home for seven days if you have either a high temperature or a new, continuous cough

Nadine Dorries in the House of Commons on Wednesday 4th March.  On Saturday Ms Dorries revealed she and her mother are both on the mend

She had tweeted at the time: ‘We have had my 84-year-old mum’s results through. She tested positive. She’s a pre war baby, doing ok. Made of strong stuff.’ 

Ms Dorries said her symptoms included a persistent cough, achy muscles and intermittent night sweats.

The Health Minister, best known by many for her stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, suggested people should think as if everything is contaminated in order to minimise their chances of infection. 

On Saturday Ms Dorries revealed she and her mother are both on the mend as she thanked everyone who had sent them support.

She added: ‘Having lived through Coronavirus can I assure everyone that at no time during the seven days we were in isolation at home did we even once have to face a secondary crisis and run out of loo roll.’ 

‘Every lift button, shopping-trolley handle, wait-button on a zebra crossing – and every cup in a cafe,’ she said. 

‘Wash your hands for 20 seconds. Carry hand-sanitiser and use it over and over. Resist the urge to hug or shake hands with anyone.’  

Ms Dorries said that the ‘public are scared and that is entirely understandable’. 

‘The majority of people will be infected with Covid-19, but they will recover without experiencing significant discomfort,’ she said. 

Ms Dorries said last week that her mother, who lives with her, was ‘made of strong stuff’ and  was ‘doing ok’ after testing positive

‘Some people may catch it and not even know they have it. The elderly are the most at risk and the most vulnerable.’     

A number of MPs have entered self-isolation after coming into contact with Ms Dorries or following the official advice.

Cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Friday that she has tested negative for the virus, but will stay at home for seven days as a precaution.