Lebanese foreign minister tests positive for COVID-19

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wahbe has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the caretaker government confirmed on Wednesday.

“The results of the PCR tests by the minister were positive,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the foreign minister has been placed in quarantine for two weeks.

Wahbe is the second Lebanese minister to have contracted the COVID-19 after former Foreign Minister Mohammed Safadi, who tested positive in March.

Lebanon has seen a surge in the number of virus infections in recent days. The country’s tally now stands at 21,324 cases, including 200 deaths, and 6,722 recoveries.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara