Spanish PM tests positive for COVID-19

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addresses a press conference to present his government's results since the beginning of the year, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, on July 29, 2022.
(JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

MADRID / MOSCOW – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday morning.

Sanchez confirmed the news in a Twitter post, saying "this morning, I have tested positive for COVID-19," adding although he would not be able to assist a planned Socialist Party event close to Barcelona, he would "continue working, taking maximum precautions."

The news came just 24 hours before Spain begins its campaign to give a fourth dose of vaccine to people aged over 60, health workers and people living in residential care homes.

This second "booster dose" will use vaccines modified to offer protection against the latest strains of COVID-19, after the health ministry reported a slight rise in the 14-day incidence of the virus in the over-60's in over two months.

The incidence rose from 129 cases per 100,000 inhabitants to 136 cases per 100,000 in the data provided by the ministry on Friday, although the number of intensive care beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has dropped to just 129, around 1.5 percent of the intensive care beds in Spain.

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People wait to undergo a free rapid antigen test for the coronavirus disease at a testing center in the GUM, State Department store in Moscow on Jan 31, 2022. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)

Russia

Russia registered 46,758 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 20,792,921, the official monitoring and response center said Sunday.

The nationwide death toll increased by 95 to 386,757, while the number of recoveries increased by 45,908 to 19,756,507, the center said.

Meanwhile, according to the center, Moscow reported 3,409 new cases, taking its total to 3,180,423.

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