- Title: Bolivia's President Anez has tested positive for coronavirus
- Date: 9th July 2020
- Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (FILE - JUNE 12, 2020) (REUTERS) NURSES OUTSIDE HOSPITAL WEARING FACE SHIELDS BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT JEANINE ANEZ SITTING DOWN WAITING TO DONATE BLOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT JEANINE ANEZ, SAYING: "I urge the population to collaborate, to contribute, so that they know security measures not only save their lives and avoid contagion, but also save the lives and avoid contagion from their families. That is the responsibility that we as human beings have. We will continue, as a government, equipping all hospitals. They will understand the precariousness in which we receive them, but we are making every effort." GENERAL OF GOVERNMENT PALACE LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (FILE - MARCH 7, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ANEZ DURING PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CROWD DURING RALLY ANEZ SEEN ON SCREEN VARIOUS OF ANEZ DURING CAMPAIGN RALLY CROWD LOOKING ON
- Embargoed: 24th July 2020 00:43
- Keywords: Bolivia's President Jeanine Anez novel coronavirus tested positive
- Location: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- City: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA002CM3A6VB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: PART FILMED IN PORTRAIT
Bolivia's President Jeanine Anez said on Thursday (July 9) she has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Anez said in a tweet she was "well" and continuing to work while in isolation. "Together, we will come out of this," she said.
The Bolivian government confirmed that at least seven ministers, including its health minister, had tested positive and were either undergoing treatment or recuperating at home.
Anez said she had conducted a test given that many of her team had fallen ill.
''I feel well, I feel strong, I am going to keep working remotely from my isolation, and I want to thank all the Bolivians who are working to help us in this health crisis," she said.
Bolivia is due to hold general elections on Sept. 6. The elections were originally planned for May but delayed due to the pandemic.
Political turmoil gripped the country last October when a disputed election led to widespread protests that eventually toppled longtime leftist leader Evo Morales.
Anez, a conservative former senator, assumed the interim president role in the political vacuum and initially said she would not run for full office, but later threw her hat in the ring.
Rival candidate and former President Jorge Tuto Quiroga, who is running again, said it was "indispensable" for Anez to be in full health and working towards the democratic transition.
Other leaders around the world also have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 55, spent three days in intensive care sick with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, while Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Wednesday he had tested positive.
Bolivia, a landlocked Andean nation of over 11.5 million people has registered more than 42,000 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,500 deaths and is one of the worst affected countries per capita in the world.
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