Coronavirus: Minister of Health Nadine Dorries tested positive

Health Minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries says she has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Ms. Dorries, the first member to test positive, said that she had taken all of the recommended precautions after finding her and had self-isolated at home.

This is a sixth person who has died from the virus in the UK, with a total of 382 cases.

The last person to die is a man in the early 1980s who had underlying health conditions.

Meanwhile, general practitioners warn that routine surgeries may have to stop as the number of coronavirus cases increases.

The British Medical Association said routine monitoring of long-term health conditions may need to stop to allow general practitioners to "focus on the sickest patients".

Dorries, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, said in a statement: "I can confirm that I have tested positive for the coronavirus."

She added: "Public Health England has started a detailed contact search and the department and my parliamentary office are taking their advice carefully."

Matt Hancock Secretary of Health tweeted that she had "done the right thing" by isolating herself from herself at home and wished her "good luck while she recovers".

He added: "I understand why people are worried about this disease. We will do everything we can to keep people safe, based on the best science possible."

Earlier, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of England defended the decision to delay the closure of schools and introduce other strict measures, claiming that experts were evaluating new cases every hour for get a "balanced response".

Dr. Jenny Harries said she expected a significant increase in the number of cases in the UK from around 10 to 14 days, by which time people with flu-like symptoms should self-isolate.

The vast majority of people diagnosed with a coronavirus in Britain were "pretty good" but could "feel a little rough for a few days," she added.

Hancock said that "wherever clinically and practically possible", people should access GP appointments "by telephone and digital means", rather than having the surgery done in person.

The total number of cases for the United Kingdom includes 324 cases in England, 27 in Scotland, 16 in North Ireland and 15 in Wales.

There are 91 cases in London, with the second highest infected area in the south-east, with 51 cases. Cases by local council region in England can be viewed here.

The last person to die, On Monday evening, a man with underlying health conditions was being treated at Watford General Hospital.

He caught the virus in the UK and authorities are trying to find out who he had been in contact with.

The British Foreign Office has warned the British against any but essential trip to Italy, which is experiencing the worst epidemic outside of China, after introducing strict travel restrictions.

Italians are asked to stay at home, to ask for travel authorization for essential reasons and to justify if they want to leave the country.

The Foreign Office advises anyone arriving in the United Kingdom from Italy since Monday evening to isolate themselves for 14 days.

The government says it has facilities to welcome Italian visitors to the UK who need to isolate themselves.

British Airways canceled all flights to and from Italy until April 4 and asked staff to take voluntary leave without pay.

Easyjet, RyanAir and Jet2 also cancel their flights on Italian routes, but EasyJet will organize "rescue flights" to bring British travelers home in the coming days.

"Enter the stores one by one"

"These are the strangest vacations I have ever known," said Hannah Butcher, of Newbury, Berkshire, who is in Rome with her husband for their first vacation alone since she had a child.

"We arrived on Sunday. The advice was then as long as you did not enter the red zone of Italy, you are OK.

"We are currently sitting in a restaurant and everyone here is in staggered rows because they have to sit within a meter of each other. That's enough weird to see families spread across several tables. "

She added that people "are only allowed to enter stores one by one".

"All attractions are closed; there are queues in front of supermarkets and butchers. There are police officers driving around to make sure the rules are followed and a notable armed police presence, probably to maintain order. "

She said they were scheduled to return home with Ryanair on Wednesday morning and had not been informed of any flight updates.

In other developments:

• London FTSE 100 Equity Index failed to rally after a dramatic 7.7% drop on Monday, ending Tuesday in almost the same position that it started in
• Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital canceled certain non-essential heart operations for two weeks after a health worker in his cardiology department tested positive for the virus
• Prison activists in the Howard League for Penal Reform have expressed concern that "unhygienic" prisons could be "a center for the spread of the virus" when they asked the government to reveal its protection plan inmates
• Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and TSB Banks have said they will allow customers to defer mortgage payments if necessary
• One of the UK's largest insurers, Aviva, reduced available coverage in new travel insurance policies due to coronavirus, people not being able to add coverage for "trip interruption"
• The Church of England urged parishes to cease all contact during services – including sharing the chalice and shaking hands for the sign of peace
• British nationals who were on board the cruise ship infected with the Grand Princess virus are flown back to the UK where they will isolate themselves
• The NHS has partnered with tech companies to help promote official online health advice
• Research shows that it takes an average of five days for people to show symptoms of the virus
• The NHS has unveiled a series of measures – including NHS information to appear when people search for "coronavirus" on Google – as part of an attempt to stop the spread of fake news on the virus online
• A Holiday Inn hotel near Heathrow Airport has been reserved by the government for people arriving from abroad in order to isolate themselves