Education minister Arie Slob has gone into quarantine after a member of his staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Slob was notified of the infection during a debate in parliament on media law. The debate was immediately abandoned and the meeting room where it was being held was cleared.

The 58-year-old said he ‘felt fine’, but would go into self-isolation immediately for 10 days as required by the government’s Covid-19 rules. He is the first member of the Dutch cabinet to have to quarantine as a result of a coronavirus infection.

‘During the debate I received a message from one of my colleagues stating that the person had been diagnosed with coronavirus,’ he said. ‘Not long afterwards I was notified by the Coronamelder app that I had been in contact with someone who has corona.

‘I have made some enquiries and the outcome is that I must now leave the debate and go into quarantine, as the rules say.’

Slob said on Twitter he would take a coronavirus test ‘as soon as possible’, but later qualified it by adding ‘as soon as I have symptoms’. Only people with symptoms can book in for a PCR test for Covid-19.

Ik ga in quarantaine. De app CoronaMelder heeft mij gewaarschuwd. Een medewerker blijkt positief getest op het coronavirus. Ik laat me zo snel mogelijk testen. Ik werk door vanuit huis.

— Arie Slob (@arieslob) October 26, 2020