Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said that she is going into isolation because her doctor, who she met on Friday had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Merkel was informed after a press conference that the doctor who administered a pneumococcal vaccine to her Friday afternoon tested positive for the virus, according to her spokesman Steffen Seibert.
Germany on Sunday barred groups of more than two people from gathering, except for families.
“The coronavirus is spreading with worrying speed through our country,” Ms. Merkel said in a televised news conference on Sunday.
Merkel decided to immediately quarantine herself in her home, Seibert said. The Chancellor of Germany will be tested regularly in the coming days as she plans to carry out her duties from home, and Germany’s government will continue to operate as planned, with Merkel’s cabinet set to meet Monday to discuss a stimulus package of roughly $160 billion to help keep Germany afloat as it suffers from the pandemic.
As of Sunday, Germany had nearly 24,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with more than 90 deaths, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University.