EU's chief negotiator for future relations with the UK, Michel Barnier, tested positive for the coronavirus, DPA reported.

"I would like to inform you that my sample for COVID-19 has turned out to be positive," he said on Twitter, adding that he 'doing well and in good spirits' and announced he was 'following the necessary instructions' along with his staff.

'I'm as well as I can be, strictly confined to my home. I'm fine, morale is good,' Barnier, 69, said in a video he shared.

He declared that 'everyone has a role to play to fight this collective battle'.

'My message to all those who are affected or currently isolated: we will get through this together,' he said.

'I naturally am following all instructions, as does my team.'

He was due to participate in the next round of talks in London yesterday to discuss key issues for a future free trade agreement. Negotiations are expected to close by the end of the year, when EU rules will cease to apply to the UK, DPA notes. However, the negotiation round was postponed due to the pandemic.

To date, there are nearly 71,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the EU and UK. Europe is already the epicenter of the pandemic.

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