French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for Covid-19

This article is more than 12 months old

Dec 18, 2020 06:00 am

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, the French Presidency said yesterday, although it is not clear at this stage where he had contracted the virus.

"The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 today," his office said in a statement.

"This diagnosis was made following a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test performed at the onset of the first symptoms."

The presidency said he would isolate for the next seven days and would continue to run the country remotely. A spokesman said all his trips had been cancelled, including an upcoming visit to Lebanon on Dec 22.

The spokesman added he was trying to assess where he could have contracted the virus.

Mr Macron was at a European Council heads of state meeting from Dec 10-11.