Folded with COVID-19, Emmanuel Macron suffers from fever, cough and fatigue and directs his illness to a presidential shelter in Versailles, his office said on Friday as criticism of the French leader’s conduct grew.
News of Macron’s coronavirus infection was revealed on Thursday, at a time when France is again seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases and warns of more as families prepare to reunite for the Christmas and New Year festivities. New.
Macron’s diagnosis prompted other French officials and European leaders to quarantine because of their recent interaction with him. The prime ministers of Spain and Portugal went into self-isolation as a precaution.
Macron’s office declined to provide details of his treatment. He is staying at the La Lanterne presidential residence in the former royal city of Versailles.
While 42-year-old Macron usually wears a mask and obeys the rules of social distancing and insisted that his coronavirus strategy is science-driven, he has been caught in the room in recent days, violating his own guidelines of France.
He shook hands and half-hugged the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, in a meeting on Monday. Both were masked, but Macron’s office admitted Friday that half-hugging was a “mistake.”
Last week, Macron spent two days in intense negotiations at an EU summit in Brussels with the leaders of the other 26 EU countries. Video clips released by the EU showed the leaders spread in a circle in a huge meeting room. Macron, like most other leaders, was not masked.
He also hosted or attended several large-scale meals in the days leading up to his positive coronavirus test, including members of his centrist party and rival politicians, although the French are now advised to avoid gatherings of more than one. six people. His office contacted those present at the tables, but told people sitting away from the president that they were not considered at risk.
However, critics have called it a misjudgment by Macron when France is facing large numbers of coronavirus cases. The country reported another 18,254 new infections on Thursday. The death toll is just under 60,000.
The French institute Pasteur launched a study on Friday suggesting that lunch hours at home and in public are a major source of contamination. Epidemiologist Pasteur Arnaud Fontanet told France-Inter radio that, during the holidays, “we can see each other, we are simply not too many, and in the critical moments at the tables, not too many people at the same table.”
Macron underwent a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared” on Thursday morning and will isolate himself for seven days, according to the recommendations of the national health authorities, the president’s office said in a brief statement.
France had its first European case of coronavirus last January. Macron’s government was criticized for not having enough masks or tests and not limiting the population fast enough. A strict two-month blockade reduced infections, and France sent children back to school and their parents to work.
But infections rose again this fall, prompting Macron to declare a new blockage easier in October that would reduce pressure on hospitals. The measures were slightly relaxed this week, although restaurants, tourist sites, gyms and other facilities remain closed.