Liberal MP Kamal Khera, who was working as nurse, tests positive for COVID-19
Liberal MP Kamal Khera, who was working as nurse, tests positive for COVID-19
The member for Brampton-West, who is also a registered nurse, said she began experiencing flu-like symptoms Saturday night and immediately self-isolated. She found out she was positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Khera said she is still experiencing symptoms but is in “good spirits.”
“I know that many Canadians are in much worse circumstances,” she wrote.
Earlier this month, Khera wrote that she had registered to help ease nurse shortages amid the new coronavirus outbreak. She said she hoped it would help reduce wait times.
Kamal Khera✔@KamalKheraLib
In response to @RNAO‘s call to action, I registered to help ease the nurse shortage during #COVID19. As a RN there couldn’t be a more important time to give back to my community.
In collaboration with @ONThealth, we’re asking RNAO members, #RNs and #NPs, for your willingness to provide virtual clinical care to Ontarians as we aim to tackle #COVID19.
If you’d like to assist, please visit: https://myrnao.ca/content/covid-19-virtual-health-services-survey …
While it’s unclear where Khera may have contracted COVID-19, she met with United Nations World Food Programme chief David Beasley on March 12. Beasley revealed on March 19 that he had tested positive for the virus.
The news of her diagnosis prompted well-wishes from many of her colleagues, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Take care of yourself, Kamal. We’re all thinking of you — and hoping you get well soon,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
Khera is the first MP to test positive for the new coronavirus. Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne was tested for the virus last week after experiencing flu-like symptoms, but his tests were negative.
The prime minister himself has not been tested, however he is completing 14 days of self-isolation this week after his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this month.
There are currently more than 3,000 cases of the illness in Canada, and 30 people have died while 185 have recovered.