Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel will remain hospitalized for a second day after testing positive for COVID-19 over a week ago, just days after attending a summit with European Union counterparts.
Bettel’s condition “is serious, but stable,” his government said Monday in a statement. Medical staff decided he needed to remain in the hospital “to keep him under observation, for an estimated duration of two to four days.”
The 48-year-old joins a growing list of political leaders who have contracted coronavirus. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among the first heads of government to fall victim to COVID-19 and went on to thank doctors for saving his life after a stint on oxygen in intensive care. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were also ill with the virus.
Bettel, who tested positive on June 27, will remain under observation due “to the persistence of symptoms,” including getting insufficient oxygen, according to the statement.
He received a first shot of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine on May 6, as part of a campaign designed to reassure the population about possible side effects. He was due to have his second shot last week.
