EU summit continues after Commission chief goes into quarantine

A summit of European Union leaders in Brussels continued as planned on Thursday after Ursula von der Leyen, the chief of the bloc's executive, left to go into quarantine because she had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

A summit of European Union leaders in Brussels continued as planned on Thursday after Ursula von der Leyen, the chief of the bloc's executive, left to go into quarantine because she had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. "The meeting is ongoing," said a spokesman for the European Council that represents the 27-member states of the EU.

Von der Leyen left the summit meeting shortly after it started and then tweeted that she had "just been informed" that a member of her front office tested positive for the virus earlier in the day. Von der Leyen had bilateral meetings in Brussels on Thursday morning with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

On arrival at the summit, von der Leyen was seen greeting leaders with her arms crossed over her chest and bowing, while some other leaders bumped elbows instead of their usual handshakes and cheek kisses.