MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine President to remain isolated after close contact with COVID-19 case

On December 6 last year, Fernández received a booster dose of Sputnik V.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández is once again under isolation after it was determined he has been in close contact with a positive case of COVID-19, while Productive Development Minister Matías Kulfas has already been confirmed as having the disease.

Kulfas and Fernández shared a trip to the province of San Juan over the weekend. The President will now handle all his official affairs from the Olivos Presidential residence, it was announced. Fernández haas already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and has received three doses of vaccine.

Presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti explained one of the chambermaids at the Olivos residence who serves breakfast had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last few hours, while Kulfas had “mild symptoms” and tested positive through a self-test kit but was awaiting confirmation from a PCR test. In the meantime, he is also isolated.

Although self-test kits are still not available in Argentina, Kulfas had one he had been given at Glasgow during COP26. In fact, “each accredited participant in the meeting was given 7 tests,” at the climate summit, according to ministry sources.

Fernández will still meet with government officials, but under “extreme care,” Cerruti said. The head of state will not be making any public appearances at least until next week, it was explained.

Meeting Fernández in San Juan were local Governor Sergio Uñac, in addition to the provincial heads of Río Negro (Arabela Carreras); Catamarca (Raúl Jalil); La Rioja, (Ricardo Quintela); and the lieutenant governor of Mendoza, Mario Abed.

Ministers of Economy (Martín Guzmán); Interior (Eduardo de Pedro); and Environment and Sustainable Development (Juan Cabandié) were also present as well as other high ranking officials.

According to the latest Health Ministry protocols, asymptomatic close contacts with a full vaccination schedule do not need to be isolated.

In April last year, Fernández had been diagnosed with COVID-19 two months after taking the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine. According to the Presidential Medical Unit, he went through the disease without serious symptoms.

In November 2020, President Fernández had to preventively isolate himself after dinner in Jujuy with former Bolivian President Evo Morales and Secretary of Strategic Affairs Gustavo Béliz.

On December 6 last year, Fernández received a booster dose of Sputnik V.