Chancellor Rishi Sunak packed into parliament on Monday despite a close family member testing positive for coronavirus.
The politician sat between Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he delivered a statement regarding the string of No.10 lockdown parties.
Mr Sunak appeared in the commons despite official guidance "strongly advising" people to limit close contact with others if somebody in their household receives a positive test, as first reported by the Mirror.
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His actions contrast to those of the PM, who decided to stay within the Downing Street confines when his daughter caught Covid last month.
Treasury insiders denied that Mr Johnson had set a precedent that other ministers should follow.
They said Mr Sunak had felt it was important to be "visible and supportive" of the Government on the day Sue Gray published an update of her report.
The Chancellor later attended a crowded meeting of the Tories' backbench 1922 committee in a show of solidarity with his beleaguered boss.
And he led Treasury questions in the House of Commons chamber on Tuesday.
Mr Sunak, who was one of the only ministers wearing a facemask on the frontbench, tested negative before the Commons statement.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, sitting on Ms Patel's other side, later tested positive for Covid and was forced to miss her trip to the Ukraine with the PM.
The legal requirement to stay at home if you have a positive case in your household is no longer in place.
But official NHS guidance still “strongly advises” people to limit close contact with others in crowded spaces and work from home if possible.
It states that they should "limit close contact with other people outside your household, especially in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces".
The advice adds that people should "work from home if you are able to" and wear a face-covering in crowded places.
A spokesman for Mr Sunak said: "The Chancellor has followed the legal requirements to the letter.
“He has taken daily lateral flow tests and has limited his social contact where possible, whilst also ensuring that he is able to continue to conduct important Government and Parliamentary business as the public would expect."
Just last month, No 10 announced Mr Johnson was unlikely to be seen in public for a week after a member of his immediate family, later revealed to be baby Romy, tested positive for Covid.
The PM's official spokesman said he would heed official guidance to limit outside contacts as much as possible for seven days after the test.
“In line with the guidance, he’s reducing contact," he told reporters.
"He’ll be working from No 10, doing daily tests and limiting contact with others both outside No 10 and indeed inside No 10 as well, having limited contact with others in the building, and conducting meetings online.”
However, Mr Johnson faced accusations he was hiding behind the illness, as it came while he faced intense scrutiny over his attendance at a BYOB garden party in No 10 during lockdown.
The PM cancelled a visit to a vaccination centre in Lancashire, where he would have faced tough media questions, while a Downing Street press conference was also axed.
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