Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was infected with COVID-19 after being sick with the virus a little under a year ago, as a new wave of infections sweeps through the country.
“Although the symptoms are mild, I will remain in isolation and will only do office work and communicate virtually until I come out of this,” AMLO, as the president is known, said on Twitter.
Earlier on Monday, the president said that he was feeling congested during his daily, in-person press conference but said it was likely just a cold and didn’t wear a mask. He had met last week with Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier, a few days before she tested positive for the virus.
The president is one of the only world leaders to officially get infected twice. AMLO, 68, suffered a heart attack in 2013, which he has said was caused by arterial hypertension. He has repeatedly downplayed the omicron variant and his administration has imposed no new measures to control the virus.
Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez will take over the daily press briefings, AMLO said. Mexico doesn’t have a vice president, so Lopez would assume power for as many as 60 days if the president were to die, until lawmakers appoint an interim leader.
The president is fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot and received his booster from the same company in December. He previously contracted the virus almost a year ago in late January 2021 and was out for about two weeks before returning to his morning press briefings Feb. 8.
The omicron variant is causing a sharp spike in cases in the country. Daily infections surged to a record on Saturday, surpassing 30,000 cases. Mexico has fully vaccinated 57% of its population, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country ranks fifth in the world for COVID-19 fatalities.
“Unless it becomes a serious illness, this will be a wash,” said Carlos Petersen, senior analyst at Eurasia Group. “Lopez Obrador would then continue with the same messaging and policies regarding COVID, claiming this is a milder variant (which seems to be the case) thus no need to interfere with normal life. It’s unlikely that the popularity of Lopez Obrador gets affected under that scenario.”
