Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced on Friday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Taking to Twitter, Dutton said: “This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat. I feel fine and will provide an update in due course.
“It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into the hospital and I have complied with their advice.”
Dutton’s confirmation comes a day after Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who were currently in Australia for a shoot, announced that they had been infected, the BBC reported.
As of Friday, Australia has reported 156 confirmed cases. Three people have died from the virus so far, but health officials warn that millions more are likely to contract the virus within the next six months.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife has tested positive for novel coronavirus on Thursday while assuring the public that prime minister himself is fine, the PMO said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, Coronavirus has claimed 1,016 lives in Italy, while at least 15,113 people are infected with the virus.
On Thursday, Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced that they have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus while filming in Australia.
According to the World Health Organization report, the death toll due to the novel coronavirus outside the Chinese mainland, the epicentre of the outbreak, has increased to 1,130.
UK MP Nadine Dorries, a minister in the health department has also tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday that raised concerns about whether senior government figures have been infected.
More than 4,000 people have died and over 110,000 have been infected worldwide, with the majority in China, though daily infections are now growing at a much faster pace abroad.
The novel Coronavirus outbreak has caused alarm as it has crossed global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic.