Joachim, a nephew of Belgium's King Philippe, traveled from Belgium to Spain on May 24. On May 26, he attended a social gathering in Cordoba with "12 or 27 guests," the Belgian Palace's press office said. Joachim tested positive for Covid-19 on May 28.
In a statement released by the Cordoba law office of Mariano Aguayo, the prince said:
“I would like to apologize for travelling and not having respected the quarantine measures. I did not intend to offend or disrespect anyone in these very difficult times and deeply regret my actions and accept the consequences.”
Under Spain’s state of emergency, all travelers arriving in Spain from May 15, with few exceptions, are required to go into quarantine for two weeks. Under the confinement rules in place in Cordoba, gatherings of more than 15 people who don’t live together are not permitted.
Authorities are now investigating if the event had more than 15 people in attendance, the spokeswoman for Rafaela Valenzuela, the Spanish government’s chief representative in Cordoba, told CNN Monday.
The spokeswoman added that regional health authorities had informed the Spanish government that there may have been up to 27 people at the event.
A spokeswoman for the prince’s law office told CNN there were two social events on consecutive days last week at which the prince was meeting with the family of a female friend, but neither event was attended by more than 15 people.
The prince is in isolation now, with mild symptoms from the coronavirus, said the law office spokeswoman.
Prince Joachim is the third child of Princess Astrid, the younger sister of Belgium's serving King, according to the palace website.
The numbers: Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe by Covid-19, with more than 239,000 confirmed cases and more than 27,000 deaths. As the infection rate has declined, the government has slowly eased confinement restrictions, while focusing on early detection through increased testing and contract tracing, to quickly tamp down on any new outbreaks.