MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Sunday that his test was positive for COVID-19 and that the symptoms are mild.
Mexico’s president, who has been criticized for dealing with his country’s pandemic, said in his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment.
“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 move on. “
López Obrador, 67, has long been criticized for not setting an example of prevention in public. He was rarely seen wearing a mask and continued to maintain a busy travel schedule on commercial flights.
He resisted the blockade of the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on so many Mexicans living on a daily basis.
At the beginning of the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, López Obrador removed two religious charms from his wallet and displayed them with pride.
“The protective shield is ‘Get away from me, Satan,’” said López Obrador, reading the inscription on the amulet: “Stop, enemy, because the Heart of Jesus is with me.
His announcement came shortly after news that he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about getting doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
The Foreign Secretary of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, said on Twitter that the two leaders would talk about the bilateral relationship and the supply of doses of the vaccine.
The vaccine has not been approved for use in Mexico, but the government is desperate to fill gaps in the supply of the Pfizer vaccine. Mexico administered more than 618,000 doses of vaccines.
Mexico recorded almost 150,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 1.7 million infections. Hospitals in the capital have been nearly full for weeks, as an increase in cases followed the holiday season.