EU's Ursula Von Der Leyen Self-Isolating after Contact with COVID-19 Case
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday she would self-isolate for a day after learning she had met someone infected with COVID-19.
“In accordance with regulations in force, I’m therefore self-isolating until tomorrow morning. I’ve tested negative on Thursday and am tested again today,” she tweeted, AFP reported.
Ms. von der Leyen said she was at a meeting on Tuesday last week attended by a person who tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday.
The head of the EU executive did not mention this in her announcement, but on Tuesday last week she was visiting Lisbon for talks with senior Portuguese officials.
When she is in Brussels, Ms. von der Leyen generally stays in a small flat on the 13th floor of the European Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters, near her office.
She is not the first senior EU official to be quarantined in recent weeks.
Last month the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, was forced to postpone a European leaders’ summit for a week after a security guard in his team tested positive.
The summit went ahead on Thursday and Friday last week, and was attended by Ms. von der Leyen.