King’s nephew tests positive for coronavirus
The youngest son of King Filip’s sister Princess Astrid has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Prince Joachim was in Spain to attend a reunion. It is still unclear as to how many people were at the reunion and whether or not it contravened the rules on gatherings that currently in force in Spain to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The news that Prince Joachim has tested positive for corona has been confirmed by the Royal Palace.
According to the Spanish newspaper ‘El Confidencial’ Prince Joachim attended a party in Cordoba, an inland town in the south of the country. Last Sunday he flew from Brussels to Madrid. There he took the high speed train to Cordoba. Prince Joachim has been in a relationship with a Spanish woman for a number of years.
On Wednesday he started to show symptoms of COVID-19 for the first time. He was tested on Thursday and on Friday it was confirmed that he had become infected with the novel coronavirus.
The Royal Palace confirms that the Prince left for Spain on 24 May and that he attended “a reunion with friends and acquaintances” on 26 May. The palace says that the nature of the Prince’s visit is professional and that he has travelled there to attend an internship at a company”.
How many people were at the “reunion?”
It is unclear as to how many people were at the “reunion”. According to the Spanish newspaper ‘El Confidencial’ an official document states that there were 27 people present. If this is true it contravenes the rules on private gatherings that are currently in force in Spain. These stipulate that no more than 15 people can attend a private gathering.
However, another source says that 12 people were present and that the figure of 27 relates to the number of people with whom Prince Joachim had been in contact since his arrival in Spain. The Prince is currently in quarantine in Spain. Prior to his departure, he had spent the past two months in his parental home in the Brussels district of Laken. It is now likely that his parents Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz will be tested for COVID-19.