Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and will self-isolate.
Mishustin reportedly confirmed his test results in a videoconference with President Vladimir Putin yesterday, and nominated his deputy to take over for him as acting Prime Minister.
“It just became known that the coronavirus tests I took came back positive, so I must oblige by the self-isolation rules and it’s mandatory [that I do that] for the safety of my colleagues,” Mishustin said in a segment aired on Russia 24 state channel.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as a temporary replacement.
The president assured Mishustin that contracting COVID-19 “can happen to anyone” and that no major decisions would be taken without his input.
According to the Kremlin website, Putin has not held any face-to-face meetings for weeks and was last shown in the same room as Mishustin on March 24.
Meanwhile, according to Russia’s official daily coronavirus update released yesterday, a spike of 7,099 confirmed infections in the last 24 hours brought Russia's total to 106,498 cases and 1,073 deaths, according to the government's daily coronavirus update.
With its number of cases increasing by several thousand each day, Russia is now the European country registering the most new infections.
