MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin self-isolated after people in his circle became infected with the coronavirus, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, adding that the same leader tested negative for COVID-19.
Putin, who is fully vaccinated against Russia’s Sputnik V, held several public engagements inside on Monday and even said he might have to put in quarantine soon. At the time, an aide tried to suggest he was speaking in general and insisted Tuesday that no one’s health was in danger.
During a daily conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin, 68, was “absolutely healthy” but had come in contact with someone who contracted the virus. Asked if Putin tested negative for the virus, Peskov said “definitely yes.”
Peskov did not say when Putin began to isolate himself, when he tested negative, how long he would remain in isolation or who among the president’s contacts was infected.
During a video conference with government officials and members of the ruling United Russia party, Putin said several people in his “immediate circle” were infected with the virus, including a staff member with whom he was in close contact throughout Monday.
This staff member was vaccinated and recently “vaccinated,” Putin said, apparently referring to a third shot that Russia offered to people immunized more than six months ago.
“Three days after the vaccination he fell ill,” Putin said. “We’ll see how Sputnik V really works.”
Even the most effective coronavirus vaccines used do not prevent all infections, but they do reduce the risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19.
Russian authorities have been regularly criticized for belittling the pandemic and for rarely imposing measures to control it. even in the face of rising infection. Currently, the death toll in Russia is at the highest level of pandemic, with just under 800 fatalities a day. However, there are currently virtually no virus restrictions.
Putin has almost never worn a mask in public, although he appeared to work largely remotely and was rarely seen in public for a period before the vaccine.
On Monday, Putin attended several public events, most of which were closed and where he appeared in television images that no one was wearing masks. He shook hands with the Russian Paralympics and placed medals on them, attended military exercises alongside other officers, and met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, to whom he also shook hands. Assad tested positive for coronavirus in March and then recovered; it is unclear if he is vaccinated.
During the meeting with the Paralympics, Putin noted that he knew of upcoming cases.
“Even in my circle there are problems with this COVID,” said the Russian leader for the state news agency RIA Novosti. “We have to look at what’s really going on there. I think maybe I should get into quarantine soon myself. A lot of people around me are sick. “
Peskov later said Putin was speaking “figuratively.”
Asked on Tuesday why Putin conducted public acts, Peskov said the decision to isolate himself was made after “doctors completed the tests, the procedures.” Peskov said without explanation that “no one’s health was in danger” in Monday’s events.
Daily coronavirus infections in Russia have dropped in the past month from more than 20,000 to about 17,000, but experts have questioned how Russia counts cases and deaths.
Despite high case loads, Russia has struggled to vaccinate its citizens and its rates lag behind many other countries. As of Friday, only 32% of the population had received at least one coronavirus vaccine and only 27% had been completely vaccinated.
Occasionally, Putin has struggled to protect himself from infection, despite the general lack of restrictions. Peskov has confirmed to the media that people who meet in person with Putin or attend events with him must undergo “rigorous testing” or early quarantine.
Even officials set up special “disinfection tunnels” last year at his residence and in the Kremlin through which anyone who met Putin had to travel. Visitors were sprayed with disinfectant mist, although it is unclear how effective it is. Putin also once visited a hospital in full suit.
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