17 Dec 2020 in 18:00
President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, his office said, prompting a track and trace effort across Europe following meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days, Reuters reports.
Macron joined all but two of the European Union’s 27 leaders at a summit in Brussels late last week to discuss climate change, the EU budget and Turkey.
Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Giuseppe Conte and others were seen initially mingling in the summit room with their face masks on. German officials said Merkel wore a mask at the summit and complied with COVID rules.
France s Macron isolating after testing positive for COVID-19
Ania Nussbaum, Bloomberg News Emmanuel Macron, France s president, speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. , Bloomberg
French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19, his office said in statement Thursday.
Macron was tested after showing mild symptoms of the disease and will isolate for seven days and continue to work, according to the statement. An official at the Elysee Palace declined to provide details on the circumstances of the infection or where the president will be isolating.
The diagnosis, days before Macronâs 43rd birthday, comes at a particularly sensitive time. France is struggling to tame a resurgence of the virus, with the president fielding criticism of his handling of the crisis and the economic fallout. Heâs also trying to push through controversial plans to bolster the powers of the p
What President Emmanuel Macron’s Coronavirus Diagnosis Means For Other Top Leaders
12/17/20 AT 8:10 AM
French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, possibly exposing several other top leaders to the coronavirus before his diagnosis.
Macron will self-isolate for seven days but will continuing working, according to Elysee Palace, the president s official residence. He took the test at the onset of symptoms.
Before his diagnosis, Macron had met with top foreign officials, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and European Council President Charles Michel as well as France s prime minister, Jean Castex.
Just this week, Macron had several high-level sitdowns.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
- France s Macron positive -
French President Emmanuel Macron becomes the latest world leader to test positive for Covid-19 and goes into isolation for the next week.
A list of leaders who have had contact with him also go into isolation, including EU chief Charles Michel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Macron s Prime Minister Jean Castex.
- Twin US records
The United States, the world s worst hit country, sets a double record with more than 3 700 deaths and over 250 000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.