German Chancellor Scholz tests positive for COVID, visit by new Slovak leader canceled

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he has tested positive for COVID-19. The government says a visit by Slovakia’s prime minister had to be canceled as a result. Scholz wrote on the social media platform X that he was experiencing few symptoms on Monday and “counting on a mild case.” His spokesperson says the chancellor is in his office and communicating by phone and videoconference but won’t perform any public duties on Monday and Tuesday. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had been scheduled to meet Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday. Scholz’s spokesperson says the 65-year-old chancellor received a COVID-19 booster shot this year.