Canadian foreign minister tests negative for coronavirus

Canada's Foreign Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne, who had self-isolated after experiencing flu symptoms, has not contracted the coronavirus, he said Friday.

"My #COVID19 test results came back negative," he said on Twitter.

Champagne, 49, announced on Thursday that he had placed himself in isolation and had been tested for the coronavirus as a precaution after experiencing flu-like symptoms less than 14 days after returning from a trip abroad.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 48, also has been in isolation for a week after his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed in quarantine.

Two other government ministers also had been isolated as a precaution in recent weeks, but they too tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.

As of early Friday, Canada had 870 confirmed cases of the virus and 12 deaths, according to official figures released by provincial authorities.

The governments of several countries -- Spain, France, Britain, Iran, Poland, Norway and Morocco -- have one or more members affected by the virus, which has spread around the world since emerging in China in late 2019.

© 2020 AFP