Leaders self-isolate after contact with Macron

BRUSSELS • A host of European leaders are self-isolating after coming into contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.

Both Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa have tested negative for the coronavirus but will stay in self-isolation, their offices said.

Mr Sanchez will remain isolated and under medical surveillance until Dec 24 and will be tested again at that point, a statement from his office said.

He was the only member of a Spanish delegation to come into close contact with Mr Macron during a visit to Paris for an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) event on Monday, it added.

Mr Costa and Mr Macron had a working lunch at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday to discuss priorities of Portugal's upcoming European Council presidency, which starts next month. Mr Costa's office said he would work remotely and wait for the health authority to decide how long he will have to stay home.

"I feel good and without any symptoms," Mr Costa, 59, wrote on Twitter.

European Council President Charles Michel, who had lunch with Mr Macron on Monday, also went into self-quarantine on Thursday, Mr Michel's spokesman Barend Leyts tweeted.

Mr Michel's self-quarantine is a precautionary measure as he is not considered to have come into close contact with Mr Macron, and he tested negative on Tuesday during a routine test, Mr Leyts added.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said on Thursday that he was also quarantining. "My thoughts are with President Emmanuel Macron for a speedy recovery," Mr Gurria said on Twitter.

Political party chiefs from France's Lower House of Parliament, the National Assembly, were also in isolation as they had a lunch with Mr Macron earlier this week.

XINHUA NEWS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS