Health minister Gillian Keegan apologises for in-person meeting despite positive Covid-19 result

Minister Gillian Keegan has apologised for continuing an in-person meeting after testing positive for Covid-19.

The minister for care and mental health took to Twitter to publicly apologise and be “upfront” about her “mistake” last night.

Keegan had attended a meeting with three fathers who had lost their daughters to suicide, and took a “precautionary” lateral flow test prior to the planned visit.

It is not yet clear what “further precautions” the minister took prior to the meeting ending.

“I should have immediately ended the meeting and on reflection this was an error of judgment on my part,” she said.

“I fully recognise the importance of following the letter and spirit of the policies, so want to be upfront about what happened and to apologise for the mistake I made.”

Health minister Ed Argar told Sky News that Keegan has personally apologised to health secretary Sajid Javid.

The government’s own Covid-19 rules explicit an individual must isolate “straight away” if they test positive for the virus via a lateral flow test.