Deputy minister of foreign affairs tests positive for COVID-19

OTTAWA — Canada's deputy minister of foreign affairs has tested positive for COVID-19.

Marta Morgan has been the top official in the department for just under a year, after leading the Immigration Department, and is the first woman to hold the job.

Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne shared the diagnosis on Twitter.

He wished Morgan a full and speedy recovery and called her an invaluable part of the foreign-affairs team.

Several ministers and MPs have isolated themselves out of concern that they have the respiratory illness but Morgan is the most senior Canadian government figure to test positive.

Champagne himself was tested for COVID-19 when he fell ill in March, following a tour of Latvia, Ukraine and Poland, but the results came back negative.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2020.

The Canadian Press

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