Australian official who met with Ivanka Trump and William Barr last week has COVID-19


Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced Friday that after waking up with a sore throat and fever, he has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and has checked into a hospital in Brisbane, according to local health policy. "I feel fine and will provide an update in due course," he said in a statement. Dutton met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other Cabinet ministers on Tuesday, but Morrison said that, on the advice of the country's deputy chief medical officer, he and the other 20 Cabinet ministers do not "need to self-isolate."
Last week, Dutton flew to the United States to meet with the security ministers of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance — the U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. While in Washington, Dutton also met last Friday with President Trump's daughter and senior White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, and Attorney General William Barr, among other officials.
"Dutton is the latest in a string of foreign dignitaries" who met with Trump or people close to him in recent days, before testing positive for the coronavirus, The New York Times notes. The White House says Trump has not been tested for COVID-19. "New Zealand's interior minister," The Guardian reports, "has decided to self-isolate, and will be tested for coronavirus on Saturday, after she also met Dutton in the U.S."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Full-body scans: more panic than panacea?
The Explainer Hailed as the 'future of medicine' by some, but not all experts are convinced
By The Week UK
-
The Last of Us, series two: 'post-apocalyptic television at its peak'
The Week Recommends Second instalment of hit show is just as 'gutsy' and 'thoughtful' as the first
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK
-
Everything you need to know about your P45
The Explainer The document from HMRC is vital when moving jobs
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US