French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, the Elysée Palace announced on Thursday.
Why it’s important: The president, 42, is the latest Western leader known to have hired COVID-19.
- U.S. President Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive and spent time in hospital after developing severe symptoms.
- Other prominent politicians infected with the virus but recovered since then include Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and European Union Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
What they say: Elysee said in a statement that Macron did a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared,” although he did not specify what symptoms he had. He will be isolated for seven days and “will continue to work and care for his activities remotely,” the palace added.
What to see: Macron attended the European Council summit in Brussels last week with the rest of the EU leaders. It is unclear what contact tracking efforts are underway, but European Council Charles Michel and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have already gone into quarantine as a precaution.
Between lines: Macron’s diagnosis could hamper possible face-to-face meetings between EU and UK leaders as negotiations on Brexit move forward in the final and most critical stretch. No trade agreement has been reached and the UK will end its Brexit transition period on 31 December.
The big picture: France has reported nearly 2.5 million cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the most in Europe and the fifth most in the world, according to Johns Hopkins. About 60,000 people have died.
- Daily infections fell substantially in December following a second national blockade, implemented in late October, after last month France experienced a massive increase of more than 40,000 new cases a day.
- Blockade rules in France have since been gradually reduced in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays.