Austrian Minister for European and Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg fell ill with COVID-19. This was reported on October 17 by the Austrian Press Agency (APA) with reference to the politician’s press secretary.
The disease is asymptomatic. It is noted that on October 14, Schallenberg held a meeting of the government, the participants of which were wearing protective masks. All its participants will pass the coronavirus test. All those who have close contact with the politician will also be tested. According to a spokesman for the official, the minister could have become infected at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Earlier, on October 13, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he had quarantined due to contact with a person infected with a coronavirus infection.
According to Worldometer data as of October 17, 39.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the world, more than 1.1 million people have died, and 29.6 million have been cured.
The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, began at the end of December last year. The Chinese city of Wuhan became the hotbed of infection. For several months, the disease has spread to more than 210 countries of the world. On March 11, WHO declared a coronavirus pandemic.