India’s foreign minister has been isolated in the G7 delegation after the Covid cases

India’s foreign minister is isolating himself at a G7 meeting in London after two members of the country’s delegation gave a positive coronavirus.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he had been informed that Covid-19 was facing a possible case.

Jaishankar held a social meeting on Tuesday with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, and the two agreed on a “migration and mobility agreement” that will provide a “tailor-made path” for young Indian professionals who want to live and work in the UK. Earlier in the week, he also met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blink.

Members of the Indian delegation had not yet attended the G7 meetings at Lancaster House in London, and talks were held on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday.

The meetings were the first face-to-face meetings of the group’s foreign ministers for more than two years. Representatives from Australia and India are attending a series of sessions with the G7 advanced economies as it seeks to strengthen ties with the UK in the Indo-Pacific region.

Coronavirus measures were present during the meetings, including local testing facilities, social disengagement, mask wear, and Perspex screens, aimed at separating delegates at meetings.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the decision to hold G7 meetings ahead, arguing that despite the pandemic it was important for the government to “try to do as much business as possible”.

“We have a very important relationship with India and G7 partners,” he said as he campaigned ahead of Thursday’s local elections. “I understand that all that has happened is that the people concerned are now isolated,” he said, adding that he would hold a meeting with Jaishankar via Zoom on Wednesday evening.

Officials believe that, based on discussions with Public Health England, people who attended meetings with Jaishankar have a lower risk of contracting the virus because of coronary artery disease restrictions and as a result will not have to self-isolate.

G7 meetings, chaired by the UK Secretary of State Dominic Raab, have focused on geopolitical issues such as climate change, vaccinations and threats to democracy, and have come as expected by the UK to set the UK agenda and post-Brexit foreign policy.

“As a precautionary measure and without regard to others, I decided to make my commitments virtually,” Jaishankar wrote on Twitter. Officials said the rest of India’s small delegations will also be isolated at G7 meetings.

“We feel very bad that Foreign Minister Jaishankar is unable to attend the meeting today,” a senior UK diplomat said. “[He] it will go virtually now, but that’s why we’ve put in place strict Covid protocols and daily testing. ”

While the positive test competes with India’s second hard wave of Covid-19, it has exacerbated the country’s health care system and left many seriously ill patients struggling to get medical attention.

India confirmed nearly 383,000 new infections on Tuesday, down from a peak of more than 400,000 new cases on Friday, but tests have dropped significantly from a peak of 1.9m per day last week to 1.5m.

It is known that more than 3,700 Indians have been killed in Covid on the third day, the country’s overall toll has risen to more than 226,000 since the pandemic began.

The number of both confirmed new cases and deaths is believed to be a huge inadequacy, given the paucity of studies, while many people in rural India are dying from respiratory distress and classic Covid symptoms.

Such as oxygen generators and life-saving drugs are being supplied to India overseas as the international community seeks to help tackle the deep humanitarian crisis. However, many complain about the slow pace of aid distribution.