BERLIN: German Health Minister Jens Spahn has tested positive for coronavirus, his ministry said Wednesday, as the country battles a spike in new cases.

Spahn, a chief ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel and an architect of the government’s response to the pandemic, went into isolation at home with “cold symptoms”, according to the ministry.

The cabinet does not however have to go into quarantine despite Spahn’s attendance at a meeting on Wednesday, a government spokesman told the DPA news agency.