‘ERROR OF JUDGEMENT’

British Government Minister: I Carried on Meeting After Testing Positive for COVID

The health minister took a precautionary test but didn’t wait for the result before starting her meeting.

A British government minister seems to have taken her dedication to politeness way too far. Gillian Keegan, a health minister in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, has admitted she carried on with a public meeting after being told that she had tested positive for COVID-19. In a series of tweets, Keegan said she took a “precautionary” test before meeting with a group of bereaved dads, didn’t wait for the result before starting the gathering, then learned it was positive. Despite that fact, she carried on with the meeting in a clear breach of guidelines. In her tweets, she wrote: “When I was told my test was positive, I was listening to three fathers who had tragically lost their daughters to suicide. I told them the result and took further precautions but with their consent, I stayed for a short period to hear their stories.” Keegan added: “I should have immediately ended the meeting, and on reflection this was an error of judgment on my part.” Her boss, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, accepted her apology.