Heng Swee Keat tests positive for Covid-19 during work trip in Berlin

He is currently in isolation and will be unable to attend his scheduled work engagements.

Lee Wei Lin| June 19, 2022, 05:55 PM

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Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has tested positive for Covid-19 while on a long-haul work trip to the UK, Germany and Switzerland.Heng shared the news through a Facebook post on Jun. 19, adding that he was infected despite keeping his mask on and "avoiding crowds throughout the trip".

He added that his "symptoms are so far not serious, thankfully because (he is) vaccinated and boosted".

Unable to continue with work trip

Having completed the London leg of his trip, during which he attended the London Tech Week 2022 and met the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Kwasi Kwarteng, Heng arrived in Berlin on Jun. 16 local time.

Among the engagements he was to attend was the inaugural Point Zero Forum, which is slated to be held in Zürich, Switzerland, from Jun. 21 to 23.

Heng confirmed that he will be unable to attend his upcoming work engagements as he is currently in isolation, and apologised to those involved with the remainder of his trip.

He also let on that he spent a portion of his "unusual Father's Day" speaking to his family back in Singapore through a video call.

Joins growing list of MPs to get Covid-19

Heng is the latest in the growing list of Members of Parliament (MPs) who have tested positive for Covid-19.

Among them are Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, Aljunied GRC MP and Workers' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim, as well as Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, who tested positive while in Copenhagen to attend a ministerial meeting on climate change.

Top photos from Heng Swee Keat's Facebook.