Russian prime minister tests positive for COVID-19

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has tested positive for COVID-19.

Mishustin, who confirmed his test results on Thursday, said he would be going on isolation.

The PM’s positive status makes him the highest-ranking Russian official to contract the disease.

“I have just learned that the test on the coronavirus I took was positive,” Mishustin reportedly said in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin.

“I have to observe self-isolation and follow the orders of doctors. This is necessary to protect my colleagues. I plan to remain in active contact by telephone and video link.”

Putin, said to have been holding video calls with officials to minimise physical contact, accepted Mishustin’s suggestion that the first deputy premier – Andrey Belousov- be named acting prime minister during his absence.

The Russian president also wished the PM a speedy recovery, saying he will still seek Mishustin’s approval for decisions on economic policy while he is in isolation.

The prime minister attended a meeting of the government’s coordinating council for combating the spread of the virus on Wednesday, where he had said it was “impossible” to give an exact date when Russia’s borders would re-open.

Boris Belyakov, Mishustin’s spokesman, said those who had been in contact with the prime minister recently would also be isolated and tested.

The country surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases on Thursday after announcing its highest single-day infection of 7,099.

The country’s total confirmed cases are 106,498 while 1,073 people have died from complications of the disease since the beginning of the pandemic in the state.