German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday announced that she was going into isolation because her doctor had tested positive for coronavirus. The doctor had vaccinated Merkel against pneumonia on Friday, reported The New York Post.
“The Chancellor has decided to quarantine herself immediately at home. She will be tested regularly in the coming days... (and) fulfil her official business from home,” spokesperson Steffen Seibert said in a statement. Seibert added that it could take some days to determine if the 65-year-old chancellor is herself infected as “a test would not yet be fully conclusive”. It is not yet known if Merkel will isolate herself in a rarely-used official residence or at her personal flat in Berlin’s museum district, reported AFP.
The news came minutes after Merkel announced a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and other measures to control the infection. She was supposed to lead a Cabinet meeting on Monday to sign on a 822-billion-euro package. Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party is now likely to take decision in Merkel’s absence. Scholz had isolated himself at home with a heavy cold last week. However, he tweeted a day later that he had tested negative for the coronavirus.
Over 24,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Germany and the country has reported 94 deaths so far.
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