Argentina's Fernandez tests positive for COVID-19 on his birthday

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez delivering a speech during a virtual Mercosur Summit, amid the coronavirus pandemic, on the 30th anniversary of its creation at Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 26, 2021. (Photo by Esteban Collazo/Argentinian Presidency/AFP Photo)

by German Press Agency - DPA

Apr 03, 2021 10:48 am

Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez has tested positive for COVID-19, he said on Friday night, his birthday.

"At the end of today, after presenting a temperature of 37.3 (degrees Celsius) and a slight headache I had an antigen test which gave a positive result," Fernandez said in a tweet posted just after midnight (3 a.m. GMT).

The Argentinian president said he was isolating and following protocols while awaiting a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result. Antigen tests are quicker but said to be less accurate than PCR tests.

"I am physically well and, although I would have liked to end my birthday without this news, I am also in good spirits," the 62-year-old said in another tweet.

Fernandez has received the Russia-made Sputnik V coronavirus earlier in the year in a Buenos Aires hospital, the presidential office said at the time.

Argentina has recorded some 2.3 million infections so far and over 56,000 deaths in connection with COVID-19.