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Foreign Minister Simon Coveney held a bilateral meeting with his Austrian counterpart, who has since tested positive for Covid-19, on Monday this week.
Both Coveney and Alexander Schallenberg attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. On Saturday, Mr. Coveney confirmed that he held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Schallenberg after the council. The bilateral took place in the halls of the Irish delegation in Luxembourg.
The meeting was called to discuss Brexit and also the European Peace Fund, which is of common interest to both Ireland and Austria as both are neutral countries. About five people attended the meeting, which involved a social distancing of at least two meters and lasted about 15 minutes.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) website states that close contact can mean “spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 2 meters of someone who has Covid-19, indoors or outdoors.”
Coveney said he learned of Schallenberg’s diagnosis today and contacted the HSE to establish how he should proceed and whether a close contact with his Austrian counterpart will be considered. He was later told by the HSE that he was not seen as a close contact with the Austrian minister.
There were two officers with Mr. Coveney, who restricted his movements and tested negative. Mr. Coveney also tested negative.
The minister also attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council on Tuesday, as did Thomas Byrne, minister of state in the Department of Foreign Affairs. That event was attended by Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, who also tested positive for the virus.
Byrne returned to Ireland with Coveney on Tuesday night and then traveled to Brussels with the Taoiseach on Thursday. Both Mr. Coveney and Mr. Byrne tested negative upon return and have been limiting their movements to essential work only.
This involves traveling to the Dáil, Cabinet meetings, working in the Department and their own offices. Byrne spoke at the Dáil on Wednesday, and Coveney attended a socially estranged cabinet meeting Wednesday to discuss improved measures to control the virus in Ireland.
The cabinet meeting was divided into three rooms and social distancing. He was not in the same room as the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or the Minister of Health during the meeting. It is understood that there were at least two other ministers in the meeting room with Mr. Coveney during the cabinet meeting.
According to Irish protocols, Coveney will be retested seven days after his first test.
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