Emmanuel Macron tests positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating the day after the Portuguese Prime Minister hugged

Emmanuel Macron tests positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating after hugging Portugal’s prime minister and welcoming European leaders

The 42-year-old took a test “as soon as symptoms appeared,” said his office
Macron will be in isolation for seven days but plans to continue ruling the country
The President was at the center of the Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU
Just yesterday he hugged the 59-year-old Prime Minister of Portugal in the Elysee Palace

By Ross Ibbetson for Mailonline

Released: 09:40 GMT, December 17, 2020 | Updated: 10:26 GMT, December 17, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating.

The 42-year-old took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared,” said the Elysee Palace in a brief statement.

Mr Macron will be in isolation for seven days but plans to continue running the country via video conference.

The fast-paced contact tracing is now underway as the president was at the center of the Brexit negotiations and just hugged the Portuguese prime minister in Paris yesterday.

It is not clear whether his 67-year-old wife Brigitte is currently at the Elysee Palace or, as Mr Macron is proposing, to isolate himself from her.

42-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Wednesday

WEDNESDAY: French President Emmanuel Macron with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa (59) on Wednesday in the Elysee Palace

LAST THURSDAY: Macron speaks to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in tense Brexit discussions – the virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days

MONDAY: Macron welcomes the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to the palace

MONDAY: French President Emmanuel Macron pats Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on the back when he comes to work at the palace on Monday

MONDAY: Macron shakes hands and holds 70-year-old Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the palace on Monday

Macron met with dozens of other European heads of state and government, including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for a summit in Brussels last Thursday.

MACRON’S CONTACTS

WEDNESDAY: Meet the 59 year old Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa at the Elysee Palace.

MONDAY: meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, OECD chief Angel Gurria.

FRIDAY: Macron takes center stage at the EU summit in Brussels – meets with the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

LAST THURSDAY: The French President is seen in a diplomatic scramble surrounded by a Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

A key aspect of their talks was the implementation of a vaccine on the continent – the EU lags behind the UK as its central regulator has to take into account all 27 other member states.

Brexit was also dominant, and Macron had a close conversation with President von der Leyen last Thursday.

He also showed a picture gesticulating in the face of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as he stood just a few meters from the Austrian Chancellor Viktor Orban.

The French President is one of several world leaders to sign Covid-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.

France eased restrictions on fighting the second wave of coronavirus earlier this week, but infection rates remain high.

There is still an overnight nationwide curfew from 8 p.m. to stop the spread of the virus, while restaurants and cafes, as well as theaters and cinemas, remain closed.

According to official information, over 59,300 people have died of coronavirus in France since the pandemic began.

The record of over 17,000 new cases on Wednesday alone has also raised concern as people shop and travel more intensely before the Christmas holidays.

Like other EU countries, France is hoping for a vaccine against the virus, and Prime Minister Jean Castex said Wednesday the country will receive around 1.16 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of the year.

French President Emmanuel Macron (center) speaks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (right) during a round table during an EU summit in the European Council building in Brussels on December 10

Macron during an EU summit in Brussels last Friday – he was surrounded by other heads of state and diplomats

MONDAY: Macron (l) talks to Louise Ekland on stage during the rugby World Cup France 2023 draw at Palais Brongniart

MONDAY: Macron bumped the 70-year-old Secretary General of the OECD, Angel Gurria, on Monday without a mask

WEDNESDAY: Macron, right, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa answer reporters

World leaders who caught Covid

Donald Trump

The U.S. president, who famously referred to the virus as a joke, contracted the disease at the height of the presidential campaign in October.

The 74-year-old was hospitalized but quickly recovered to go back to the campaign.

Jair Bolsonaro

The 65-year-old Brazilian president downplayed the severity of the virus and called it “minor flu,” but contracted the disease in July.

During his quarantine, Mr Bolsonaro said, “I knew I would catch it one day as I think unfortunately almost everyone here will catch it at some point. What are you afraid of? Face him. ‘

Boris Johnson

The 56-year-old British Prime Minister was the worst hit by the coronavirus among world leaders.

Mr Johnson was admitted to intensive care in April at the height of the pandemic in Europe.

Such was the severity of his illness that preparations were made in case he should die.

Prince Albert II of Monaco

The 62-year-old head of state contracted the coronavirus in March, and doctors gave him the all-clear in early April.

Mikhail Mishustin

The Russian prime minister caught the virus in April. Mishustin, 54, was forced to hand over the powers to his colleagues while he was recovering from the illness.

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