Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has suspended all public activities and will quarantine until December 24 after being in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tested positive for COVID-19, his office said on Thursday.
Sanchez and Macron met on Monday in Paris. Video footage of Macron welcoming the Spanish prime minister at the Elysee Palace showed both wore masks and did not shake hands.
Sanchez, whose wife contracted the virus at the start of the pandemic in March, will be tested for COVID-19.
French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the French Presidency said on Thursday, although it was 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 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 spokeswoman said that all his trips had been cancelled, including an upcoming visit to Lebanon on December 22.
They added he was trying to assess where he could have contracted the virus.
Macron was at a European Council heads of state meeting on December 10-11.
