German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday tested positive for COVID-19, reportedly suffering mild cold symptoms.

Scholz's office said he had immediately gone into isolation, with public appointments for the week canceled.

Spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the 64-year-old chancellor intended to conduct internal appointments virtually.

Among the meetings that Scholz is set to attend remotely is a meeting of state premiers, Hebestreit said.

Scholz had returned on Sunday from a two-day trip to the Gulf states. Ahead of the trip he took a PCR test, which was negative, and tested negative for a second time on Sunday.

Interior minister: 'Corona has got me too'

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Monday said she had also tested positive for the first time since the start of the pandemic. 

"Now Corona has got me too, for the first time. The virus remains insidious. Look after yourself this autumn everyone!" Faeser tweeted on Monday. 

She had been due to attend a meeting of state and federal interior and justice ministers in Munich on Tuesday.

Germany is set to roll out booster vaccinations for older and clinically vulnerable people as the winter approaches.

The World Health Organization last week said coronavirus remained a global emergency, but that the end of the pandemic could be in sight if countries tackle it properly.

rc/dj (dpa, AFP)

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