Belgian Prince Joachim tests positive for coronavirus after going to Spanish lockdown party

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A Belgian prince has tested positive for coronavirus after attending a party in Spain during lockdown.

Prince Joachim, a nephew of Belgium‘s King Philippe, contracted Covid-19 after going to the gathering in Cordoba on 26 May, a spokesperson for the Belgian Royal Palace said.

The party breached lockdown rules because of how many people were there, according to Spanish media.

The royal spokesperson said the palace could not confirm the number of people in attendance.

The 28-year-old prince travelled to Spain from Belgium on May 24 for an internship – two days before the party took place.

He is still in Spain, the palace said on Saturday.

El Pais newspaper said the prince, who is tenth in line to the Belgian throne, attended the party along with 26 other people.

This would go against lockdown rules in the province of Cordoba, where a maximum of 15 people are allowed to meet up.

Spanish police said they had launched an investigation into the incident and those who breached restrictions could face fines of between €600 (£540) and €10,000.

All 27 people who attended the party are now in quarantine, Rafaela Valenzuela, the Spanish government’s regional envoy in Cordoba, said on Saturday.

She called the gathering “completely irresponsible” and said it could have caused an outbreak of infections, triggering a return to a stricter lockdown.

“I feel surprised and angry. An incident of this type stands out at a moment of national mourning for so many dead,” she said.

Spain has started easing some of its lockdown restrictions, which at one point were among some of the strictest in Europe.

However, as people emerge after spending months shut up inside, police have intervened in a series of incidents at parties, funerals and other social gatherings at which restrictions were broken.

In Barcelona, bathers were moved off the beach after some were spotted breaching rules by swimming in the Mediterranean, police said over the weekend.

Spain’s death toll for coronavirus rose by four on Saturday as the country emerges from one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the world to date.

More than 257,000 people have tested positive for the virus nationally as of Sunday.

Meanwhile, the death toll stood at 27,125.

Additional reporting by Reuters