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Servant close to Queen Elizabeth tests positive for COVID-19

29 March 2020 09:57 (UTC +04:00)

A royal servant in close contact with Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for the COVID-19 disease, raising fears for the monarch’s health amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the country, APA reports citing The Sun.

The servant, whose duties include taking drinks and meals to the queen, introducing guests, handing her letters and messages and walking her dogs, has reportedly been sent home for self-isolation.

“Everyone is terrified, not just for themselves but also for the Queen and the Duke", said one royal insider, according to the news outlet. “If everyone around them hasn’t been tested yet they should be and I’m sure they will be. There is a palpable sense of fear in the air at the moment”.

According to The Sun, the royal household examined a dozen other members of the staff and all tested negative for the virus.

Last week, the 93-year-old monarch along, with husband Prince Philip, 98, moved from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle after another servant at the London residence was diagnosed with the coronavirus.

As of Saturday, the United Kingdom has confirmed over 17,000 coronavirus-related infections, and 1,019 deaths.