India’s minister for external affairs has been informed of “exposure to possible Covid positive cases” after arriving in London for the first in-person meetings of G7 foreign ministers in over two years.
It comes amid reports that two members of India’s delegation to the summit in London tested positive for the virus and were are now self-isolating, but the UK government is yet to comment on the matter.
Posting on Twitter, Dr. S. Jaishankar, India’s minister for external affairs, who also met with Priti Patel, the home secretary, yesterday as part of meetings in London, said: “Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases.
“As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode. That will be the case with the G7 meeting today as well.
A senior UK diplomat said: “We deeply regret that foreign minister Dr Jaishankar will be unable to attend the meeting today in person and will now attend virtually, but this is exactly why we have put in place strict Covid protocols and daily testing”.
It is understood the Indian delegation had not attended the formal G7 meeting at Lancaster House, but did have other meetings in advance. However, Public Health England has determined the risk to those from other delegations, including the UK, in the sessions is low and they do not have to self-isolate.
Last month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, insisted “strict” Covid-19 secure measures had been put in place, including daily testing and domestic social distancing guidelines. The last in-person meeting took place in 2019 at Dinard and Saint-Malo in France — before the pandemic forced countries to close borders and impose restrictions.
India is not a member of the G7, but the country was invited to the high-level event as a guest nation, ahead of a major summit of leaders in Cornwall next month led by Boris Johnson.
Earlier, Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, told Sky News he was unaware of suggestions that G7 delegates were self-isolating because of a Covid-19 scare, telling the programme: “This is news to me. I can’t really comment on this”.
On Wednesday, foreign ministers from other nations arrived at Lancaster House in central London for the second day of the summit, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab arriving at the venue ahead of officials from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US and the EU.
