British Health Secretary broke COVID rules to have affair, apologizes

His marriage isn’t very healthy either.

Britain’s Health Secretary apologized Friday after his affair with an aide was exposed, and to make matters worse, it took place during heightened COVID restrictions.

Matt Hancock apologized for violating social distancing rules during a passionate kiss with Gina Coladangelo in his office May 6, the BBC reported. Both Hancock and Coladangelo are married.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted Hancock’s apology and will allow him to remain in the government, much to the consternation of his political opponents, according to Sky News.

Johnson said no laws were broken, because social distancing guidelines were relaxed for people working in offices together, Sky News reported. At the time, however, guidelines asked people to keep their distance from anyone outside their household.

Hancock and Coladangelo met at Oxford University and had kept in touch, Sky News reported.

In May 2020, prominent British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, a government adviser, was revealed to be violating lockdown rules to visit a married woman. Ferguson left the advisory position, and Hancock said social distancing rules were “there for everyone” and added they were “deadly serious.”