FILE PHOTO: Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio, Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese and Minister of Justice Alfonso Bonafede together in February. Lamorghese tested positive for coronavirus on Dec. 7. Di Maio and Bonafede have both s
ROME - Italy's Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese discovered during a cabinet meeting on Monday that she had coronavirus, forcing her to abandon the gathering hastily, political sources said.
Lamorgese is asymptomatic and tested positive after undergoing a routine swab before the cabinet, one of many she has taken in recent months, a source in her office said.
Lamorgese, a 67-year-old former civil servant who has no political affiliation, returned home and will remain there in isolation while continuing to work.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede, both members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, have decided to self-isolate because they were sitting next to Lamorgese in the cabinet, a second source said.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his other ministers did not come into close contact with Lamorgese but are expected to undergo a test as a precaution.
The cabinet met to discuss a national plan on how to spend more than 200 billion euros ($243 billion) that Italy is due to receive from a European Recovery Fund designed to revive the bloc's economy after the pandemic.
