Coronavirus: Piers Morgan to miss Good Morning Britain as he tests for Covid-19

ITV presenter says he has 'mild symptom' and will take time off from show

Piers Morgan has said he will not host Good Morning Britain on Monday 4 May because he has been tested for coronavirus.

The ITV presenter said he was presenting mild symptoms for Covid-19 and would not be working on the show until his results come back.

“On medical advice, and out of an abundance of caution for a mild symptom that arose in past 48hrs, I’ve had a test for Covid-19 and so won’t be working on @GMB until I get the result back, which should be tomorrow,” he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan has become an outspoken critic of the UK government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, accusing ministers of being unprepared for the outbreak.

Last month he clashed with health secretary Matt Hancock over government efforts to procure ventilators for Covid-19 patients, saying the minister had “misjudged the public mood” by refusing to admit to mistakes in the response to the pandemic.

If Mr Morgan tests positive, he will join a growing list of well-known people who have caught the coronavirus, such as Prince Charles, actor Tom Hanks, and prime minister Boris Johnson.

His Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid also self-isolated in March after one of her children developed symptoms of the virus.

Although the vast majority of people will only have a mild illness from Covid-19, a total of 28,446 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for the virus in the UK, as of Sunday.

Government guidance states the most common symptoms of coronavirus are the recent onset of a new continuous cough and/or a high temperature. ​