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EU's von der Leyen tests negative after COVID-19 contact

October 5, 2020

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said she is self-isolating following contact with a case of the coronavirus. She has tested negative, but said she would sequester herself until Tuesday.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen putting on a face mask at a press conference last week
Image: Johanna Geron/AP Photo/picture-alliance

Top EU official Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she has tested negative for COVID-19.

She took the test after finding out she had participated in a meeting last week attended by a person who tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend. 

The EU chief said she would continue to self-isolate until Tuesday morning, in accordance with Belgian health precautions.   

Read more: Trump briefly leaves hospital to greet supporters

The bloc's research commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, also said Monday that one of her team members had tested positive for the disease and that she and her cabinet were self-isolating.

"I feel well and have no symptoms. Have a good week, stay safe!" she said on Twitter. 

Monday's announcements come on the heels of European Council President Charles Michel going into quarantine at the end of September after a security guard tested positive.

The EU was forced to postpone a summit, which Michel had been scheduled to host, as a result of his enforced quarantine.

Michel was ultimately given the all clear and the summit went ahead on Thursday and Friday last week. Von der Leyen was in attendance.  

Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen at the EU leaders' summit in Brussels last week
Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen at the EU leaders' summit in Brussels last weekImage: Dursun Aydemir/AA/picture-alliance

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass went into quarantine in September after it emerged that one of his bodyguards had caught COVID-19. Maas later tested negative for the disease.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spent two weeks in home quarantine in March after meeting with an infected doctor. Merkel tested negative at the time.

Read more: Coronavirus latest: Angela Merkel to quarantine after meeting infected doctor

kw/msh (AP, Reuters)