NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cancelled his visit to Berlin at the eleventh hour. The German Defense Ministry announced this on Thursday.

When asked, a NATO official said that Stoltenberg has shingles, a skin disease also known as zona in Belgium.

The NATO chief recently contracted a corona infection, and a possible consequence of this is that you can get shingles afterwards, it says. Stoltenberg is currently working from home.

Stoltenberg normally met in the German capital with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.

This should have included preparations for the NATO summit from 28 to 30 June in Madrid.