Michael Gove self-isolating after family member develops coronavirus symptoms
Senior Tory understood to be feeling well and will continue to work from home as normal
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Your support makes all the difference.Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove is isolating at home after a member of his family began to display symptoms of coronavirus.
The senior Tory is understood to be feeling well and will continue to work from home as normal, as ministers scramble to steady the ship after Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care on Monday night.
Mr Gove, who is tasked with leading Whitehall's response to the crisis, tweeted: "Many thanks for kind messages. In accordance with the guidance, I am isolating at home after a member of my family started to display mild symptoms of coronavirus on Sunday.
"I have not displayed any symptoms and am continuing to work as normal."
It comes after the prime minister was transferred to the intensive care unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London as a precaution following a deterioration in his condition.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, will deputise for Mr Johnson wherever necessary in his role as first secretary of state - the de facto deputy prime minister.
Mr Gove, speaking before it emerged that he was in isolation, said Mr Johnson has received "oxygen support" but is not on a ventilator.
"He is kept, of course, under close supervision," he told LBC radio.
"By being in intensive care, if there is further support he needs, it is there at hand. But the prime minister has not been on a ventilator."
His comments were the first indication of the prime minister's condition after it dramatically emerged on Monday night that he had been admitted to the ICU.
The worsening of his condition was greeted with shock in Westminster, and comes at a critical moment in the crisis, with experts predicting the epidemic could reach its peak in days.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson's transfer to hospital on Sunday was a "precautionary step" following the persistence of his cough and high temperature - despite 10 days in self-isolation.
He initially sought to continue to work from his hospital bed but he was later moved to intensive care in case he needed a ventilator.
Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant with their first child, is unable to visit him in hospital.
She has said she is "on the mend" after being forced to self-isolate for displaying coronavirus symptoms.
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