KEY POINTS
  • Merkel decided to immediately quarantine herself in her home, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. 
  • She will be tested regularly over the coming days and will continue to conduct her duties as chancellor from home, Seibert said. 
  • Germany, the European Union's largest economy, has banned meetings of more than two people in public for the next two weeks to contain the spreading virus.
  • Exceptions will be made for people who live together and for work-related gatherings. 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to make a press statement on the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 at the Chancellery, in Berlin on March 22, 2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made the decision to self-quarantine in her home after having contact with a doctor who tested positive for the coronavirus, making her the latest world leader to take precautions after possible exposure to the rapidly spreading disease. 

Merkel was informed after a press conference Sunday that a doctor who administered a pneumococcal vaccine to her Friday afternoon tested positive for the virus, according to her spokesman Steffen Seibert.