BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has been diagnosed with COVID-19 after feeling unwell on Sunday night and his in-person participation in the G20 finance track events scheduled for this week in Sao Paulo may be compromised.
The Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday that Haddad would chair the meetings on Feb. 28 and 29 virtually, while continuing to undergo tests. If he tests negative, he will be cleared to attend the events in person, it added.
In addition to participating in the G20 events as part of Brazil’s presidency of the group gathering the world’s largest economies, Haddad had scheduled bilateral meetings and other engagements.
An encounter with the International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday is now set to be held virtually, the ministry said, as well as his gathering with the IMF’s executive director in Brazil.
Haddad was also expected to meet with Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Monday and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday. The ministry did not immediately respond about whether those would also be held virtually.
Some 450 delegates representing other G20 members, nine invited countries and 17 international organizations are set to arrive in Sao Paulo by Thursday, according to Brazil’s Finance Ministry.
Official meetings kick off on Monday with a gathering of finance and central bank deputies, extending through Tuesday.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the first meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors will take place under Brazil’s presidency.
The South American country aims to tackle topics such as inequalities combat, progressive international taxation, national debts and financing for sustainable development.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; editing by Gabriel Araujo, Bernadette Baum, Kirsten Donovan, William Maclean)