Australia minister who met with Barr, Ivanka Trump diagnosed with coronavirus

A top Australian Cabinet member, who was pictured meeting with White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other White House officials last week, confirmed Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

“This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat,” Peter Dutton, the Australian Minister for Home Affairs and a member of Australia’s Parliament, said in a statement Friday on Twitter. “I immediately contacted the Queensland Department of Health and was subsequently tested for COVID-19. I was advised by Queensland Health this afternoon that the test had returned positive.”

“It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into hospital and I have complied with their advice,” he continued. “I feel fine and will provide an update in due course.”

pic.twitter.com/9XieecxPr3

— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) March 13, 2020

Dutton was in Washington, D.C., last week for meetings on the Five Eyes security pact, an intelligence alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the U.S., USA Today reported. A photo was shared on Twitter of Dutton, Trump, Barr and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, among others, on March 6.

Yesterday Home Affairs @PeterDutton_MP joins @IvankaTrump, Attorney General Barr & our five eyes partners to fight online child exploitation. We heard from 9 brave survivors & announced principles that technology companies should implement to protect children online pic.twitter.com/3ifeJnGJPI

— Australia in the US (@AusintheUS) March 6, 2020

Australia has 128 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Actor Tom Hanks confirmed Wednesday that he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, have both tested positive for the virus. They were in Australia filming a project when they began feeling sick.

The report comes after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive for the virus this week, just days after having traveled to Florida to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he was not concerned about Wajngarten’s diagnosis.

There are more than 135,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide as of Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 4,900 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began late last year in China.