Spain’s PM to self-isolate after French president tests positive for coronavirus

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is going into quarantine and canceling his agenda for the coming days after being in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Both leaders were together at an event in Paris on Monday to observe the 60th anniversary of the signing of the OECD convention. On Thursday, the French presidential palace, the Elysée, announced in a statement that Macron had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Sánchez will self-isolate until December 24, which will mark 10 days since Monday’s meeting. According to La Moncloa, the seat of the Spanish government, some of the activities on his agenda that have been canceled include the opening of an exhibition at the National Library in the company of King Felipe VI.

“Prime Minister Sánchez will immediately undergo a diagnostic test to determine his situation and, depending on the results, decide about his agenda for the coming days,” said La Moncloa in a release.

Sánchez has taken many coronavirus tests during the course of the pandemic and they have all come back negative, even though many of his close contacts – including his wife Begoña Gómez – have tested positive for the virus.

The leader of the Socialist Party (PSOE) was in Congress on Wednesday to explain the government’s actions under the state of alarm that went into effect in October to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

English version by Susana Urra.