Europe
2020.10.26 00:59 GMT+8

Leaders with COVID-19: Slovak PM Matovic is latest to test positive

Updated 2020.12.21 01:14 GMT+8
Tim Hanlon

Igor Matovic attended a summit where Emmanuel Macron, who has also tested positive, was present. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty

Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic is the latest leader to catch COVID-19, a week after attending a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron who went on to test positive for the disease.

There is now a long list of heads of state and government to get the virus including U.S. President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro.

There have also been former heads of state such as ex-Italian president Silvio Berlusconi and members of royal families such as Prince Charles, next in line to the UK throne, who have had the virus.

 

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Matovic, 47, posted a message, on December 18, showing his positive test and an order to observe 10 days of isolation on Facebook, but did not say where he had been infected or whether he had symptoms.

The announcement the previous day that Macron had tested positive for COVID-19 prompted a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and European Union heads of government, some of whom decided to self-isolate.

Meeting and greeting means heads of state are always prone to picking up the virus but there is still the debate over whether they have been unlucky or careless?

Some leaders have dismissed the danger from coronavirus to differing degrees and then picked it up, such as Bolsonaro or Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. 

Emmanuel Macron admitted that negligence and bad luck played a part in catching the virus. Chesnot/Getty

France President Emmanuel Macron

France's President Emmanuel Macron blamed negligence and bad luck for catching the virus which was announced on Thursday, December 17.

In a video from Versailles, where he was self-isolating, he said that he was "doing well," and promised to be "totally transparent" about his illness.

His symptoms included a headache, tiredness and a dry cough.

Critics pointed to the way that he was shaking hands and had large-group meals that could have led him to catch coronavirus.

"(It) shows that the virus really can touch everyone because I am very protected and am very careful," he said. "Despite everything I caught this virus – perhaps, doubtless, a moment of negligence, a moment of bad luck too."

Moldova's Prime Minister Ion Chicu has tested positive for the virus but will continue to run the government remotely, according to his adviser. /Reuters

Moldova Prime Minister Ion Chicu

Moldova's Prime Minister Ion Chicu caught the virus in early December but continued to work remotely.

Chichu's adviser Boris Harea announced the news via Facebook on December 8, adding that "the prime minister will run the government remotely."

The country's leader had a working meeting with outgoing President Igor Dodon and parliamentary speaker Zinaida Greceanii on Monday, the day before the news broke that he had tested positive. 

Moldova re-entered a state of emergency on November 30 in an effort to tackle an increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was already in isolation when he tested positive for the virus. /Johanna Geron/ AP/

Andrej Plenković, Croatia's prime minister

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was already in isolation when he tested positive for the virus on November 30 because his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 the previous weekend.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov confirmed via Facebook he had tested positive for COVID-19. /AP/Johanna Geron

Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria's prime minister 

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had already been in isolation when he announced he had contracted COVID-19 on October 25, after a deputy minister had tested positive a day earlier. 

 

Andrzej Duda said he is in good shape after his positive test for the virus. /Getty/ Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto

Andrzej Duda, Poland's president 

Poland had a surge in cases in October when Andrzej Duda tested positive.

The president went into isolation but said he didn't have any serious symptoms. He was pictured wearing a mask as he met construction workers in Warsaw before the positive test result.

 

Donald Trump has not been in favor of tough restrictions and was not badly affected when he got the virus. /Getty/Win McNamee

Donald Trump, U.S. president

Donald Trump, 74, tested positive along with his wife Melania Trump in early October. 

The Republican president has given mixed messages about the dangers from the virus and has not been in favor of strong restrictions. He tested positive after an aide and family members picked up the virus but he was not badly affected by it.

 

Boris Johnson needed intensive care treatment in March after getting the virus. /Pippa Fowles/Getty

Boris Johnson, UK prime minister

Infected in March, Boris Johnson was one of the first leaders to get COVID-19 and one of the worst affected, as he needed treatment on an intensive care ward. 

He received criticism for having downplayed the danger of the virus beforehand and not taking restrictions seriously enough. He had been seen shaking hands while carrying out his duties and did not put in place as strong a lockdown as those other European countries.

 

Michel Barnier overcame the virus at home following quarantine rules. /Thierry Monasse/Getty

Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the UK

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator tested positive in March and was the first senior Brussels policymaker to get the virus. He followed quarantine rules and said he was in "good spirits" as he overcame the virus at home.

 

Jair Bolsonaro has always dismissed the threat of the coronavirus and is concerned about the economic cost of lockdowns. /Andre Borges/Getty

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president

Brazil's leader picked up the virus in July after refusing a lockdown in the country and choosing not to socially distance. He attended political campaigns and demonstrations where he voiced the dangers to the economy of shutdowns.

 

Alexander Lukashenko claimed vodka and saunas were what was needed to overcome the virus. /Andrei Stasevich/ASS via Getty

Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus president

The Belarus strongman was asymptomatic when he picked up the virus in July. He has refused lockdowns in the country and said people should fight it with vodka and saunas.

 

Avdullah Hoti took over due to a backlash in the way the Kosovo authorities were dealing with the pandemic. /Ferdi Limani/Getty

Avdullah Hoti, Kosovo

The Kosovan leader tested positive for the coronavirus just two weeks after taking over on August 2 and self isolated with a mild cough.

He took office following a vote of no confidence in previous leader Albin Kurti, who had refused to declare a state of emergency over the pandemic.

 

Russia's prime minister Mikhail Mishustin picked up the virus along with several other cabinet ministers. /Dmitry Astakhov/TASS via Getty

Mikhail Mishustin, Russia's prime minister

Russia's prime minister got coronavirus during April when the virus was peaking in the country. He tested positive along with several other cabinet members and President Vladimir Putin's spokesman. Russian authorities at the time were saying they had the virus under control.

 

Nikol Pashinyan claimed he got the virus from a restaurant waiter. /TASS via Getty

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia's prime minister

The 45-year-old got coronavirus at the start of June along with other members of his family.

He wrote on Facebook that he thought he got it from a gloveless waiter at a restaurant.

 

Prince Charles only suffered mild symptoms and self-isolated in Scotland. /Ben Birchall -WPA Pool/Getty

Prince Charles, heir to the UK throne

The next in line to the British throne self-isolated in Scotland after getting coronavirus in March. He only suffered mild symptoms and said: "I got away with it quite lightly."

 

The Prince of Monaco Albert II worked from home while he recovered. /Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Albert II, prince of Monaco

Albert, 62, was the first reigning monarch to test positive on March 19. He worked from home without serious symptoms and recovered after two weeks.

 

Jeanine Anez has had to oversee one of the countries worst affected by coronavirus. /Gaston Brito/Getty

Jeanine Anez, Bolivia's interim president 

The 53-year-old interim Bolivian president picked up the coronavirus as it swept through the country in July but she showed no symptoms.

Bolivia has suffered one of the highest death tolls proportionate to population size in the world from COVID-19.

 

Juan Orlando Hernandez, Honduras president

The Honduras leader, 51, tested positive in June along with his wife. He was hospitalized with pneumonia but was able to carry on his duties remotely.

 

Alejandro Giammattei, Guatemala's president

The Guatemalan leader, 64, was a high-risk patient due to age and he suffers from multiple sclerosis. He tested positive in September but only showed mild symptoms and was able to continue working from home.

 

Nuno Gomes Nabiam, Guinea-Bissau prime minister

The Guinea-Bissau leader tested positive for the coronavirus along with three members of his cabinet but recovered after going into quarantine.

 

Pranab Mukherjee had underlying health problems before getting the coronavirus. /Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto via Getty/

Pranab Mukherjee, former president of India

The president of India from 2012 to 2017, Pranab Mukherjee had underlying health problems when he succumbed to COVID-19 on August 31. 

The 84-year-old had a positive test ahead of surgery to remove blood clot in the brain and died three weeks later.

 

Silvio Berlusconi needed hospital treatment as he fought the virus in September. /Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Silvio Berlusconi, former Italy prime minister

The former prime minister and media mogul, 83, tested positive at the start of September and needed hospital treatment for 10 days before recovering.

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