By Rogers Wanambwa

KIU, Main Campus - President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, says the French government.

“The president tested positive for COVID-19 today,” part of a statement from the presidency read on Thursday. It added that Macron had been tested after the “onset of the first symptoms.”

According to the French government, Macron will self-isolate for seven days, by national regulations, and will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely. 

Besides, President Macron adds to the list of heads of state and government around the world who have contracted COVID-19. These include U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization confirmed Wednesday it was dispatching a team of researchers to China in the first week of January to examine the origins of the novel Coronavirus that led to the global pandemic.

The 10-member team will analyze medical data and test samples to deduce how the virus that causes COVID-19 lunged from animals to humans, and where it emanated. Most researchers believe the virus, which was first detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, emerged from bats.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was announced last year, it has killed more than 1.6 million people out of a total of 74.2 million total wases recorded.