Coveney restricts movements after attending the same meeting as the positive minister in Luxembourg

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney is restricting his movements to essential work after attending the same meeting as an Austrian minister earlier this week who has since tested positive for Covid-19.

Alexander Schallenberg, Austrian Foreign Minister, tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, which Coveney also attended.

The two ministers also held a bilateral meeting after the Council roundtable meeting.

Talking to TheJournal.ie, a Coveney spokesman said he has been “restricting his movements to essential work and will continue to do so.”

Coveney tested negative for Covid-19 earlier this week after returning to Ireland, and he plans to get tested again next week.

“He has had a consultation with a senior public health physician today and due to the safeguards and distancing he was in place, he is not considered a close contact of the Austrian minister,” the spokesman said.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council met on Monday to discuss developments in Belarus and Russia, engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean and the EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo.

Before the meeting, Coveney said he welcomed “the European Council’s agreement on targeted sanctions against those responsible for falsifying the results of the August elections in Belarus and the use of violence against peaceful protesters.”

The meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council was chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

The foreign ministers of the EU member states attended the council meeting in round table style.

Images from the event show that most, but not all, were wearing masks.

After the round table, Coveney and Schallenberg held a bilateral meeting in the rooms of the Irish delegation.

Both Schallenberg and Belgium’s Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes tested positive for Covid-19 following the roundtable meeting on Monday.

Wilmes tweeted earlier today that she had tested positive and that she thought she had been infected within her family circle.