Nadine Dorries Is Unwell

Many of those who knew that (yes, it’s her again) Nadine Dorries, the less than totally fragrant Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, was not nearly as nice a person as she would like the world to believe, had already come to the conclusion long ago that she was not a well being. But none would have wished the Coronavirus upon her.

Nevertheless, the Coronavirus is what she has got, and worst of all for the Government, as she has inexplicably been made a health minister, she has been interacting with lots of her fellow MPs - and some constituents - in the last few days, meaning that many of them will soon be experiencing the joys of Covid-19 for themselves.

As Steven Swinford of the Times has told, “Nadine Dorries, a health minister, has become first MP to be diagnosed with coronavirus … She has been in Westminster for past week, met hundreds of people, and attended a No 10 reception hosted by Boris Johnson on Thursday … Nadine Dorries' coronavirus diagnosis came through tonight [March 10]. She is recovering … Health officials are now in process of attempting to identify all the people Nadine Dorries has been in contact with over the past week - including MPs”.

Those self-isolating should include alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and anyone who was at that reception. The problem is that many of them will already have gone on to meet and interact with many other people. And so it goes on. Swinford had more. "Nadine Dorries first felt ill last Friday as she was signing a statutory instrument which made coronavirus a 'notifiable' disease … The full symptoms did not kick in until Saturday as she held a constituency surgery in Mid Bedfordshire”.

So she’s probably infected several of her unfortunate constituents as well. And, it seems, her 84-year-old Mum, who is in the same house and has “begun to cough”. All of which throws into question the precautions already advised by the Government. If one of their junior ministers can wreak such health havoc in a few days at Westminster, why is Parliament still carrying on as if nothing had happened? Because it has happened.

Moreover, if Ms Dorries “showed symptoms” last Thursday, why on earth did she carry on with her duties the next day, including signing that statutory instrument, and then, having conceded that she felt ill at that point, take her constituency surgery the following day? Why, on the same day she “showed symptoms”, did she go ahead and attend a Downing Street reception hosted by the PM, and presumably also featuring his pregnant fiancée?

What d'you mean, it was my idea to invite her?

Did it not occur to her that her being unwell might be a sign that she should have begun the process of self-isolation then and there? Instead, she just went right ahead and probably infected scores of others. As an exasperated James Wilby put it, “If Nadine Dorries knew she was unwell and still ran a constituency surgery - DESPITE ALL THE ADVICE SHE AS A HEALTH MINISTER HAD BEEN PROMOTING - then she's not only as stupid as I'd always presumed, she's grossly bloody negligent”.

Hopefully all concerned will make a full recovery, especially Ms Dorries’ unfortunate Mum. Perhaps the experience will help her to be a little more tolerant of dissent, and a little less unpleasant to those of different political persuasion, in future.

And maybe - just maybe - our Government will start to take Covid-19 seriously. Hint.

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