Politicians, celebrities fall victim to coronavirus

The novel coronavirus outbreak has not spared politicians and celebrities around the world.

Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has tested positive for the COVID-19, State Secretary Minister Pratikno said here on Saturday evening.

The 63-year-old minister has been treated at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta.

"(The minister) is already treated in the hospital and there has been improvement (on his condition)," Pratikno said at the State Secretariat building.

Meanwhile, Pierpaolo Sileri, Italy's vice-minister of health, said Saturday that he had contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by novel coronavirus.

"A few days ago, I came into contact with someone who was later discovered infected," Sileri said in a statement. "As soon as I realized I had symptoms (of COVID-19), I isolated myself and started working remotely."

"I immediately followed all the protocols indicated by the Ministry of Health," he said. "My wife and baby are doing well, and even though we live in the same house, we have divided the rooms between us."

By making his infection known, Sileri joins a growing list of high-profile officials infected that includes Nicola Zingaretti, president of the region of central Lazio and head of the Democratic Party, Alberto Cirio, president of the northern region of Piedmont, Army Chief of Staff Salvatore Farina, and Ministry of Education Vice-Minister Anna Ascani.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he has taken a coronavirus test and his temperature was "totally normal."

Trump told reporters at a White House briefing that he took a test for the virus on Friday night and that he expects the results in a couple of days.

He met with a Brazilian delegation last week, and at least one member of the delegation has tested positive.

Earlier on Thursday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been in self-imposed quarantine after his wife tested positive, and questions arise over whether U.S. President Donald Trump should be tested after meeting a Brazilian official infected with COVID-19.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that he had tested negative, after his press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive for the disease.

Bolsonaro and Wajngarten met and dined with Trump in Florida last week, U.S. media reported, publishing a photo that shows Wajngarten standing shoulder to shoulder with Trump and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the Mar-a-Lago resort.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who had met the Brazilian delegation, said Friday that he had tested positive, advising anyone who shook hands with him to self-isolate for two weeks, local media reported.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced on Friday that he had tested positive as well and has been treated in a hospital in the northeastern state of Queensland.

Dutton "had woken up with a fever and a sore throat just a week after he met with (U.S.) Attorney General William P. Barr, Ivanka Trump and senior security officials," reported The New York Times on Friday.

A delegate from the permanent mission of the Philippines to the United Nations (UN) tested positive for COVID-19, the first known case at the UN headquarters in New York, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in an e-mail to UN correspondents on Thursday.

Several senior officials of Iran have contracted the novel coronavirus, including First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, has been quarantined after showing symptoms of COVID-19, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Seyed Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a senior Iranian official infected with the virus, passed away at a Tehran hospital, Russia's news service provider Sputnik reported on March 2.

The concerns over the coronavirus are also growing in France where Minister of Culture Franck Riester, who has been quarantined at home.

Junior Health Minister Nadine Dorries of Britain has tested positive for COVID-19.

In Spain, the country's parliament on Thursday suspended all activities for the next 15 days after Minister of Equality Irene Montero tested positive for COVID-19 and her partner, Second Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, was quarantined.

Hollywood is not immune to the epidemic, as Oscar winner Tom Hanks announced on Wednesday that he and his wife Rita Wilson both tested positive for COVID-19.

Hanks is the first Hollywood celebrity to publicly confirm a COVID-19 diagnosis. He has been honored with two consecutive Oscars for 1993's "Philadelphia" and 1994's "Forrest Gump."

Global sports events have also fallen victim to the virus. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19, the Premier League club confirmed late on Thursday evening. Their London Colney training center has been closed.

U.S. media reported that the National Basketball Association (NBA) season was postponed indefinitely, after Utah Jazz superstar Rudy Gobert became the first NBA player to contract the virus and his teammate, Donovan Mitchell, also tested positive for COVID-19.