Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Wife of Canada’s Leader, Tests Positive for Coronavirus

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in isolation for the next two weeks after Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, his wife, tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

Ms. Grégoire Trudeau became mildly ill on Wednesday and physicians tested her for the virus after she developed a low fever which has since passed. The couple voluntarily isolated themselves on Thursday.

Last week, Ms. Grégoire Trudeau attended a charity event in Britain with her daughter, Ella-Grace, and Margaret Trudeau, the prime minister’s mother. She was part of a panel with Julia Gillard, the former Australian prime minister, and posed for a photograph in a small group that included Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One driver.

The statement said that while Mr. Trudeau showed no signs of illness, physicians recommended that he remain in isolation as a precautionary measure. Because he has no symptoms, Mr. Trudeau will not be tested for now and, according to the statement, doctors do not believe that anyone with whom he has been in contact is in danger.

While he was absent from the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau nevertheless carried on with his duties by telephone and computer. A Friday meeting with provincial leaders that will likely be dominated by the coronavirus situation has been turned into a conference call.

Canada currently has relatively few cases, just 138. But Mr. Trudeau is among many government officials who have been affected one way or another by the virus.

In Italy, which remains under a nationwide lockdown because of the virus, Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of the governing coalition’s Democratic Party, said he has tested positive and some members of that country’s Parliament have been quarantined.

In Britain Nadine Dorries, a health minister, has also come down with the contagion. Several members of Iran’s senior leadership, including the deputy health minister, have also been found to have Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

A senior Brazilian government official who visited Mar-a-Lago days ago, and was in proximity to President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Brazil’s government confirmed on Thursday.

Some members of Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet are in precautionary isolation as is Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party.

Among the tasks Mr. Trudeau fulfilled from home were calls about the health crisis with President Trump, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain.

If Mr. Trudeau does fall ill and is unable to work, his cabinet must choose an acting prime minister. The role will most likely be fulfilled by Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister.