French President Macron Tests Positive for Covid

French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive on Thursday after developing symptoms of COVID-19 and will self-isolate for the next seven days. Many European leaders who recently had close contact with the 42-year-old president are also self-isolating as a precaution, including the prime ministers of France and Spain.

French officials stated President Macron will still be in charge of running the country, working remotely while in isolation. The president’s wife, 67-year-old Brigitte Macron, is also self-isolating, although reportedly she has not experienced any symptoms and tested negative on Tuesday, just prior to a hospital visit in Paris.

This week, France ended their six-week lockdown restrictions, replacing the mandate with a curfew in order to help curb the rising spread of coronavirus cases across the country. According to tracking data released by Johns Hopkins University, France has experienced almost 2.5 million infections since the start of the pandemic outbreak and has seen over 59,400 deaths from the deadly virus. France plans to rollout its vaccine distribution program starting on December 27.