Australian PM Tests Positive for Covid, Has ‘Flu-like Symptoms’
(Bloomberg) -- Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison has tested positive for Covid-19 and is isolating at his home in Sydney, after a busy week where he toured flood-stricken parts of the country and met the president of the Pacific nation of Nauru.
Morrison announced his diagnosis in a Facebook post late Tuesday night, saying he was “experiencing flu-like symptoms and will be recovering over the next week.” He said his wife and daughters had tested negative so far and were isolating for a week under Australia's Covid-19 rules.
“While in isolation I will continue to discharge all my responsibilities as prime minister, including virtually chairing meetings of the National Security and Expenditure Review Committees of Cabinet,” Morrison said in his Facebook post.
Shortly after Morrison's announcement of his diagnosis, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ben Morton, revealed he had also tested positive for Covid-19 in a statement on Wednesday, saying he was only experiencing a “mild headache” and would isolate.
The news comes after the Australian leader made several public appearances in the past week. He toured flooded areas of Queensland state, meeting with emergency services personnel overseeing the relief effort, and delivered a homily at St Andrew's Ukrainian Church in Sydney, where he gathered with parishioners.
Just hours before he announced his positive test, Morrison posted a photo of a meeting in Sydney with the president of the small Pacific nation of Nauru, Lionel Aingimea. At a press conference in Canberra earlier on Tuesday, where Morrison announced lethal aid to Ukraine, the prime minister was regularly coughing and taking sips from a glass of water.
The Australian leader said he had been testing himself daily since Sunday and had been receiving negative results until Tuesday. Morrison has had three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Morrison joins a small cohort of world leaders who have announced a positive test for Covid-19, including U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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