PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the presidency said, adding that he would now part with him next week.
He is one of several global leaders who have made a deal with COVID-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.
Macron was tested after “the first signs” and now, according to national rules, will be “separate for seven days. It will continue to operate and carry out its activities remotely, ”his office said in a statement.
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Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wish Macron well.
“The world needs you healthy and full of energy,” Lapid tweeted.
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, visits the devastating site of the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon, 6 August 2020. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus, Pool)
As a result of the review, next week’s trip by Macron to Lebanon – where the president had been pushing for political change in the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion in August – was postponed, his office.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex will step down after talks with Macron, his office said.
They said the prime minister is showing no symptoms but will not go to the French Senate on Thursday to discuss his government’s vaccination strategy against COVID-19.
Macron’s wife, Brigitte, will be lonely but also with no symptoms, her office said.
Parliament spokesman Richard Ferrand is also lonely after contacting Macron, his office said.
The prime ministers of Spain and Portugal also entered quarantine after meeting with Macron.
Diseases remain high
France earlier this week released a ban that prevented the second wave of coronavirus but infection rates remain high.
There is still a nationwide curfew from 8pm to stop the spread of the virus while restaurants and cafes as well as theaters and cinemas remain closed.
More than 59,300 people have died in coronavirus in France since the outbreak began, according to official figures.
The registration of more than 17,000 new cases on Wednesday alone has also raised concerns as people buy and travel more intensively before the Christmas holidays.
People walk in a pedestrianized area, some days before Christmas and one day after the end of a coronavirus lock, on 16 December 2020, in Nantes, France. (Venic Looks / AFP)
Like other EU states, France is pushing its hopes on a vaccine to eradicate the virus and Castex said Wednesday that the country will receive around 1.16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year.
Castex said the start of the vaccination campaign was subject to approval by the European Medicines Agency, which was expected on 21 December.
“We will only open the vaccination program to the general public in late spring,” he said.
Another problem for the French authorities is that, according to an opinion poll, only 53 per cent of people want to be vaccinated, among the lowest in the world.