Irish Prime Minister positive for COVID-19 a day before meeting with US President

Irish Prime Minister Martin attended a party in Washington (USA) on the evening of March 16 and received news about the results positive for SARS-CoV-2 . virus.

US President Joe Biden was also present at the gala dinner, but it is not clear if the two leaders will close contact together or not. Prime Minister Martin (61) and President Biden (79) have both received two basic vaccines and a booster dose.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher told CBS News that President Biden had not been in close contact with Martin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that a person can become infected with COVID-19 through close contact with an infected person, which occurs when someone is “less than 6 feet away from an infected person.” (nearly 2 m) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period”.

Mr. Martin sat next to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Pelosi at the party on the evening of March 16. (Photo: CNN)

Mr. Martin and Mr. Biden attended the Ireland Funds Gala at the National Building Museum. Dozens of lawmakers attended the fundraising party. Mr. Martin sat next to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ms. Pelosi had planned to introduce Mr. Martin on stage, but instead, at the end of her speech, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives said that the Irish Prime Minister had left the event to attend an emergency meeting. grant. Moments later, Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall wearing an N95 mask walked onto the stage and said that Mr. Martin had tested positive for COVID-19.

House Speaker Pelosi’s office was not immediately available for comment.

According to an Irish Government official, antigen test Mr. Martin at about 5pm on March 16 gave a positive result. Later, when a member of the Irish Prime Minister’s delegation also tested positive, the entire delegation was tested again with PCR tests “out of an abundance of caution”. Mr. Martin’s PCR test continued to be positive.

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