European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a hasty exit from a Brussels summit of EU leaders on Thursday after one of her close staffers tested positive for the coronavirus.
The EU chief took the action as a precautionary measure, even though she tested negative for the virus.
“I have just been informed that a member of my front office has tested positive to COVID-19 this morning,” she tweeted. “I myself have tested negative. However as a precaution I am immediately leaving the European Council to go into self-isolation.”
I have just been informed that a member of my front office has tested positive to COVID-19 this morning. I myself have tested negative.
However as a precaution I am immediately leaving the European Council to go into self-isolation.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 15, 2020
The meeting of the 27 leaders across the bloc, plus numerous top EU officials, was in full flow when the Commission president left.
Brexit and climate change were two of the key topics for discussion at the summit in the Belgian capital, as well as the EU’s next steps on tackling the virus sweeping the continent.
