The case was confirmed as home affairs ministers from across the bloc arrived at the EU Council building for an extraordinary summit on migration. Credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

The second case of coronavirus has been reported among European Union staff, after an employee at the EU Council tested positive for the virus.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed that the second confirmed case was an employee from the information security unit who had been infected in Belgium, Reuters reports.

The news came hours after the EU’s Defence Agency became the first in the bloc to confirm that one of its staff members had caught the new coronavirus after returning from northern Italy.

Related News:

Reports of the second infection among EU employees came as home affairs ministers from across the EU arrived at the Europa council building ahead of the meeting, expected to start at 5:00 PM and coincide with a protest march against EU leaders’ response to a new influx of migration from Turkey.

A spokesperson for the council said confirmed that the meeting would still go forward, saying that the confirmation of a second case would not entail “a disruption to the work of our institutions.”

A meeting on Friday which will see health ministers gather at the council to discuss the state of the coronavirus outbreak through Europe is also set to go forward.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times