Indian Delegates Test Positive for Coronavirus at G7 Summit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a press conference with India's Foreign Minis
BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty
Gabrielle Reyes

India’s foreign minister was forced to cut short his in-person attendance of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in London on Wednesday after two members of his delegation tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus.

“Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] positive cases,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar wrote in a Twitter statement posted May 5.

“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,” Jaishankar added.

A British government official confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that two members of the Indian delegation tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus and revealed that the entire Indian delegation was currently “self-isolating.” The British government currently requires people who test positive for the Chinese coronavirus to self-isolate for ten days.

“Self-isolating means staying at home and not leaving it — not even to buy food or medicines, or for exercise,” the BBC reported on May 2.

“The Indian delegation had not yet attended the main [G7] summit venue at Lancaster House, and so meetings scheduled for Wednesday went ahead as planned,” Reuters reported on May 5.

“Jaishankar was pictured meeting British interior minister Priti Patel on Tuesday [May 4], although Patel did not have to self-isolate because the meeting had been held in line with existing rules,” the news agency noted. “Both were wearing masks in the photograph.”

“I think it’s very important to try to continue as much business as you can as a government,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on May 5 after reporters asked him if it had been a mistake to hold this year’s G7 summit in person given the Indian delegation’s positive coronavirus tests.

Johnson added that he planned to speak with Jaishankar later on Wednesday via Zoom. Jaishankar confirmed that the two spoke virtually on May 5 by sharing a photo of him and Johnson chatting during a video call to his official Twitter account.

“Very good of PM [Prime Minister] Boris Johnson to reach out between the G7 sessions. Assured him that [British] Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and I will take forward the 2030 Roadmap. Committed to delivering on the Modi-Johnson vision of our ties,” Jaishankar wrote in a caption accompanying the photo, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India is not a member state of the G7 but was invited by Britain to the intergovernmental group’s annual summit this week in London. Other guests at this year’s meeting include South Korea, Australia, and South Africa. The G7 consists of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan. This year’s G7 summit is the first in-person meeting of the group since 2019 due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

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