Having Been Vaccinated Against COVID-19, Luxembourg PM Remains Exposed To COVID-19

Luxembourgian Prime Minister Xavier Bettel (right) with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydio. (Wikimedia Commons/EU2017EE Estonian Presidency)

JAKARTA - Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms and will self-isolate for 10 days, the Grand Duchy Government said on Sunday, June 27 local time.

Bettel, 48, performed a self-test which was positive and confirmed by a subsequent PCR test.

"The prime minister is currently showing mild symptoms (fever, headache) and will continue to carry out his duties and functions, this is by teleworking," his office said in a statement.

Bettel is known to have taken part in the EU Summit in Brussels, Beigia on June 24-25 last week, where participants included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and other European leaders.

Meanwhile, according to the Times of Malta, none of the 26 other EU leaders attending Thursday and Friday's Brussels summits were considered cases of contact, a statement said.

Under rules in Luxembourg to contain the spread of the virus, close contact with a person with COVID-19 is defined as spending more than 15 minutes with them at a distance of less than two meters without a mask.

A Bettel spokesman said he had complied with the rules and protocols in effect during the conduct of the summit.

"There are no heads of state or government figures on the prime minister's list of close contacts," the spokesman said.

Local media said Bettel, 48, had so far received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. To note, Luxembourg, which has about 600,000 residents, recorded 70,600 cases of COVID-19 infection with 818 deaths.