In this photo made available by the United Arab Emirates Presidential Court, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE left, shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (Mohamed Al Hammadi/UAE Presidential Court via AP)

German chancellor Scholz tests positive for coronavirus

By Associated Press New Berlin

PUBLISHED 6:03 AM ET Sep. 26, 2022

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokesman told the news agency dpa on Monday.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz has mild symptoms and immediately entered isolation. He has canceled all public appearances this week but plans to take part virtually in internal government meetings, Hebestreit said.

Scholz returned from a two-day official trip to the Gulf States on Sunday and before that was at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Scholz was not the only government official to contract the virus this week: Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Twitter Monday morning that she had also tested positive.