Italy's interior minister tests positive for Covid-19

Italy’s interior minister tests positive for Covid-19

By : AFP

Date: 7 December 2020 8:22pm WAT

A view shows Christmas decorations on Via dei Condotti and the Trinita dei Monti church (Rear) in downtown Rome on December 4, 2020, during the government's restriction measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. - The Italian government imposed tighter restrictions to italian regions on December 4 as it tries to stem escalating new cases of coronavirus during the Christmas holidays. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

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Italy’s Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday, the government said.

Lamorgese submitted to a routine test in the morning and learned the results while attending a meeting of government ministers in the afternoon, said the government in a brief statement.

The two ministers sitting next to her, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede, put themselves into self-isolation, although all those present were wearing masks and practiced social distancing, the government said.

Lamorgese is the second government minister to test positive for Covid-19. The first, the minister for regional affairs, Francesco Boccia, tested positive in October and has since recovered.

One of the hardest-hit European countries in the pandemic, Italy has recorded more than 60,000 Covid-19 deaths and 1.7 million infections.