Reuters
PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, his office said, prompting a track and trace effort across Europe following meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days.
Macron, 42, was running the country remotely after going into quarantine in the Elysee Palace, the presidency said. His wife Brigitte was also self-isolating.
“This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms,” Macron’s office said, declining to give further details of his conditions or the symptoms he had.
Macron will cancel all upcoming trips including a Dec. 22 visit to Lebanon where the French president has led international efforts to resolve a deep-rooted political crisis.
But it was closer to home that Macron’s COVID infection spurred other leaders to take their own tests.
Macron joined all but two of the European Union’s 27 leaders at a summit in Brussels late last week to discuss climate change, the EU budget and Turkey.
Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Giuseppe Conte and others were seen initially mingling in the summit room with their face masks on. German officials said Merkel wore a mask at the summit and complied with COVID rules.
The German government said Merkel tested negative for the coronavirus after the EU summit.
More recently, Macron had lunch with European Council President Charles Michel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and OECD chief Angel Gurria, who is 70, on Monday. He also held talks with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Wednesday.