UPDATES WITH DETAILS, ADDS REMARKS BY BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
By Ahmad Adil and Sorwar Alam
NEW DELHI / ANKARA (AA) – India’s foreign minister will self-isolate at the G7 meeting of diplomats in the UK after possible exposure to coronavirus.
“Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases,” External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The minister said that as an "abundant caution" and out of consideration for others, he will conduct his engagements virtually. "That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well," he added.
Jaishankar is in London to attend the G7 foreign ministers' summit, though India is not a member state of the bloc made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.
India, the country most devastated by coronavirus recently, reported almost half of new coronavirus cases recorded in the world last week, according to the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, the UK broadcaster Sky News reported that it understands "two members of the Indian delegation have tested positive for COVID-19, and that the group are now self-isolating."
On Tuesday, Jaishankar met with British Home Secretary Priti Patel to sign a new UK-India migration agreement, however, according to Sky News, she will not self-isolate because Jaishankar did not test positive.
The Indian foreign minister also met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
There are strict social distancing measures in place at the summit, and all G7 participants will continue to be tested daily.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked if it was the right decision to hold the G7 meeting in person.
He said: "I think it's very important to try to continue as much business as you can as a government.
"We have a very important relationship with India, with our G7 partners. As I understand it, what's happened is the individuals concerned they're all isolating now."
Johnson said he will see Jaishankar later on this afternoon but "that will be a Zoom exchange."
*Karim El Bar contributed to this story from London