DUTTON STRUCK DOWN WITH VIRUS

CORONAVIRUS has disrupted the Australian Cabinet, with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton becoming the first Australian politician to test positive to COVID-19.

But the Prime Minister’s Office says it will not have implications for the rest of the national leadership team, despite the senior minister attending a Cabinet meeting days earlier.

Advice to Prime Minister Scott Morrison is that he is not required to undergo testing at this time, but he will no longer attend the Cronulla Sharks game today as planned.

Mr Dutton (pictured) had been in Washington DC until

Sunday, where he had rubbed shoulders with US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.

He had also been in meetings with US Attorney-General William Barr and other top security officials.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne was also in the US until Thursday, where she met with US counterparts and Australian business representatives.

The Home Affairs Minister returned to Brisbane on Sunday and attended a Cabinet meeting with his colleagues in Sydney on Sunday, but was not showing symptoms.

Mr Dutton did not attend a meeting of the smaller National Security Committee in Canberra on Thursday, having dialled in to the group’s discussion instead via a video link.

It is understood the Minister began to feel unwell late Thursday evening or yesterday morning, calling a doctor when a fever began. Mr Dutton said he felt fine and would provide an update in due course.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said there was no need for other members of Cabinet to self-isolate.