The president of the Czech Republic was forced to swear in the country's new prime minister from inside a plexiglass box after testing positive for Covid.
Peculiar pictures showed Milos Zeman greeting Petr Fiala from inside a cubicle during a ceremony at his residence near Prague on Sunday.
Rules in the Czech Republic require a positive patient to observe two weeks of self-isolation.
Mr Zeman, 77, who was wheeled in by a medic in full protective gear, caught Covid during a six-week stay in intensive care for unrelated issues.
Mr Fiala, 57, who leads a bloc of five centre and centre-right opposition parties that won an election in October, has called on people in the Czech Republic to get vaccinated.
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The new government will have to tackle a new wave of Covid infections that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals and an energy crisis, after the collapse of a large electricity provider.
Mr Fiala, who expects his cabinet to be appointed in mid-December, said: "The new government has a very complicated time ahead and many challenges... I want it to be a government of change for the future."
Opponents of vaccination and the government's anti-coronavirus measures such as a ban on Christmas markets gathered in their
thousands in Prague later on Sunday for a protest rally.
Only 58.5 per cent of Czechs are vaccinated against coronavirus.
This compares to a European Union average of 65.8 per cent, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
According to the BBC, Mr Zeman is a heavy smoker and former heavy drinker who uses a wheelchair and suffers from diabetes.
A controversial figure, he is known for making divisive remarks and using strong language.
He was criticised in June for calling transgender people "disgusting".
