Australian Minister Peter Dutton has coronavirus

Friday, 13 March 2020 16:05

Australia's minister for home affairs, Peter Dutton, has tested positive for coronavirus.

He has been admitted to hospital in the northeastern state of Queensland.

The senior politician was in the United States last week for an official meeting, but it’s not yet known when he contracted the virus.

Dutton said he feels "fine" but his diagnosis will raise concerns about whether other members of the cabinet and Prime Minister Scott Morrison may have been infected.

Australia has recorded 199 infections and three deaths from COVID-19 so far.

pic.twitter.com/9XieecxPr3
— Peter Dutton (@Hon_PeterDutton) March 13, 2020

More from International News

US Senate passes Trump's tax-cut, spending bill; sends to House

The Republican-controlled US Senate passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill on Tuesday, signing off on a massive package that would enshrine many of his top domestic priorities into law while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe

More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region.
Blow for Thailand's government as court suspends PM from duty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, in a major setback for a government under fire on multiple fronts and fighting for its survival.
Trump signs order lifting sanctions on Syria, White House says

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.