Michael Gove’s daughter has tested negative for Covid-19 (Picture: BBC/ Rex)

Michael Gove has come under fire after it was revealed his daughter was tested for coronavirus just days after showing symptoms.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster first faced questions after he was photographed jogging in a park while he was believed to be in isolation. His daughter, 17, had shown symptoms of the virus, and under government guidelines, this means members of household need to stay inside for a period of 14 days.

Defending his actions, Gove reportedly said he had received special permission from Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty to have his daughter tested for Covid-19. She had first shown ‘mild’ symptoms on April 5 and he received permission 24 hours later, the Mail Online reports.



They said: ‘She was tested on Tuesday and the result came back negative on Wednesday afternoon, at which point the household isolation rules no longer applied to the family.’


The Cabinet minister, pictured running last year, was believed to be in isolation (Picture: AFP)

Gove reportedly told Mr Whitty that testing his daughter would allow him to quickly get back to government duties, despite working from home in recent weeks.

The government is currently striving to increase the amount of coronavirus tests happening on a daily basis, with health workers and those seriously ill considered to be at the top of the priority list. As of April 1, just 0.15% of NHS workers had been tested for Covid-19.

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Carers have also expressed their frustration at the ‘inadequate’ amount of testing taking place in homes for elderly people. A number of vulnerable people have died in a series of care home outbreaks, including nine people in Oak Springs Care Home, Liverpool.

On Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK is ‘on target’ to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. He was not able to confirm how many NHS workers had died from coronavirus during Sunday’s press conference.

Gove has been working from home (Picture: BBC)

Gove was heavily criticised by Piers Morgan, who said on Good Morning Britain that the minister could have carried on working from home while in isolation.

He said: ‘This is what we want for everybody on the frontline, the ability to test them immediately, so if they’re negative they can get on with their lives and go back to work.’

Speaking to Piers, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said people in the health service should remain the priority for coronavirus testing.

Discussing Gove’s daughter being tested, she said: ‘I will have reservations about it being one rule for some and another for everyone else. Those tests are obviously in short supply.’

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