Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador flew a commercial flight hours before announcing that he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, raising concerns that he could expose others, according to several reports.
Jesus Ramirez, his spokesman, told Reuters that his boss felt chills at the end of Sunday’s event in the city of San Luis Potosi. But the president dismissed the symptoms, attributing them to a common cold.
Ramirez said the president was showing stronger symptoms when he returned to Mexico City.
Lopez Obrador, who was criticized for dealing with the pandemic in his country, said in his official Twitter account on Sunday that he was under medical treatment and that his symptoms were mild.
“I am sorry to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” he tweeted. “The symptoms are mild, but I am already undergoing medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all go ahead.”
PRESIDENT OF MEXICO POSITIVE TEST FOR COVID-19
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his morning press conference at the presidential palace, Palacio Nacional, in Mexico City on December 18, 2020. (AP Photo / Marco Ugarte, Archive)
Jesus Ortega, a former leader of the opposition Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), criticized the president for taking a commercial flight and putting others at risk.
“How irresponsible and careless of him to just take a flight knowing he may be infected,” said Ortega. “The problem is that he is the president. If the president violates health guidelines, he is setting a bad example for others.”
He wished Lopez Obrador a speedy recovery.
Ramirez said passengers on the flight were being contacted. Journalists traveling with the president were urged to isolate themselves.
Meanwhile, among those who met Lopez Obrador’s entourage during a three-day trip to parts of northern and central Mexico before the flight, included corporate chiefs and his former chief of staff, Alfonso Romo, according to the news agency.
On Tuesday, health officials identified 11 people who may have had close contact with the president.
Several senior officials in the country said they did tests after Lopez Obrador announced the test was positive, while others said they would isolate themselves.
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Interior Minister Olga Sanchez – who recently took over her daily press conferences after her infection and was among the authorities to be tested – said the president was still working on Tuesday.
“I can say that he is strong and is even intervening in some of the most important decisions,” she said, according to the news agency.
Lopez Obrador has resisted slowing the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on many Mexicans, despite the fact that the country has recorded more than 150,000 deaths from coronavirus and almost 1.8 million infections.
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The country has recently recorded its highest levels of infections and deaths to date.