Belgian prince tests positive for Covid after attending high society party in Spain
A Belgian man who tested positive after attending a party in Spain is the country’s Prince Joachim, it emerged on Saturday.
The 28-year-old, tenth in line to the Belgian throne, attended a party in the southern Spanish city of Cordoba which is now being investigated by authorities there.
He is the younger son and third child of Prince Lorenz and Princess Astrid and therefore the nephew of the current Belgian monarch King Philippe.
Prince Joachim has lived in Spain for several years with his girlfriend Victoria Ortiz Martinez-Sagrera.
The party where he contracted coronavirus was reportedly organised in his honour a day after he returned to Spain on Monday following two months in Belgium.
The event was held in a private house amid conflicting local reports up to 30 high-society people may have attended the bash in breach of strict conditions linked to Spain’s coronavirus lockdown.
Police in Cordoba are said to have launched an investigation to determine whether anyone should face fines.
Before Spanish press echoed the name of the mystery man who had caught coraonvirus at the party, regional Junta de Andalucia governors had already reported the incident to police and central government representative in the area.
Only a maximum of 15 people were allowed to attend the party under rules in place at the time.
No-one has yet officially confirmed how many attended the bash.
Prince Joachim is said to flown to Madrid from Belgium on March 24 before taking a high-speed AVE train to Cordoba.
The Belgian royal palace confirmed the details in a statement to a Belgian newspaper.
Meanwhile a plane flying from Madrid to Lanzarote was quarantined by officials and an investigation launched after a man on board found out he had tested positive for coronavirus whilst in the air.
On landing, the aircraft, along with the 140 passengers on board, was cordoned off by Spanish health and safety authorities at Cesar Manrique airport on the popular holiday island.
Police are investigating why the man was travelling and whether he has breached quarantine rules. He reportedly took a test for the virus before he travelled because he had been in contact with someone who had died from Covid-19, however he departed Madrid before the results arrived. He now faces prosecution.
The man and the passengers sitting close to him on the plane were immediately isolated on landing and face two weeks in quarantine, while the rest of the flight were allowed to disembark, taken to quarantine in a local hotel together for a week and tested to see if they have caught the virus while on the flight.
