Italian interior minister Luciana Lamorgese speaks at a joint press conference in Birgu, Malta, on Sept. 23, 2019. Germany, France, Italy and Malta have agreed on how to jointly handle migrants who arrive in the Mediterranean.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, according to an official source.

"My best wishes to minister Lamorgese, who tested positive for the COVID-19," Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio wrote on his official Facebook page.

Lamorgese knew about the result of her latest swab test -- which she has been regularly carried out every 10 days -- while attending a cabinet meeting in the Italian capital on Monday.

She swiftly left the meeting and put herself in isolation at home. She was reportedly asymptomatic.

Yet, because of the gathering, two other cabinet members who were sitting next to her -- Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede and minister Di Maio -- also isolated themselves as a precautionary measure, and would wait to be tested as well.

"After the cabinet meeting I will also be in self-isolation, and keep working every day via video conference, abiding by all health protocols," Di Maio explained.

All cabinet members including Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte would undergo a swab test, although they did not come into close contact with the Interior Minister, according to Ansa news agency.

"The measure is precautionary, since each minister was sitting at a safety distance from their colleagues at the meeting," Ansa reported, citing government sources.

Lamorgese, 67, was appointed interior minister in September 2019 with the second government led by Conte. She became another member of the Italian cabinet to test positive for the coronavirus, after Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia (who was asymptomatic) in October.