The global death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 242,000 with 3.4 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness.
Russian media report say a second minister in the Russian government has tested positive for COVID-19 and is being treated in a hospital.
Construction Minister Vladimir Yakushev said on May 1 that he has been hospitalized in Moscow and is receiving “treatment under the supervision of doctors,” according to TASS, quoting the ministry’s press office.
One of his deputies at the Construction and Housing Ministry, Dmitry Volkov, also tested positive for the coronavirus, the report said.
Deputy Minister Nikita Stasishin has been appointed acting minister of construction in Yakushev’s absence, TASS reported.
The announcement that Yakushev is being treated for COVID-19 comes a day after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said he was entering self-isolation after testing positive. A spokesman said he would be kept under observation at a medical facility but did not give its name.
First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov is serving as acting prime minister while the 54-year-old Mishustin, who was named prime minister in January, recuperates.
