Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced on social media on Nov. 9. Shortly thereafter, his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, announced that he too had coronavirus.
“There are no lucky people for whom COVID-19 does not pose a threat. Despite all the quarantine measures, I received a positive test,” Zelensky said on Twitter in English.
Zelensky said he has a slight fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius, but he “feels good.”
There are no lucky people for whom #COVID19 does not pose a threat. Despite all the quarantine measures, I received a positive test. I feel good & take a lot of vitamins. Promise to isolate myself, but keep working. I will overcome COVID19 as most people do. It’s gonna be fine!
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 9, 2020
Zelensky said he will self-quarantine, but keep doing his job.
“I will overcome COVID-19 as most people do. It’s gonna be fine!” Zelensky wrote.
Yermak announced that he too had tested positive on Facebook on Nov. 9. He said he feels “normal” and will continue working from self-isolation, especially since this week he has a video conference with other advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four – Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia.
The Normandy format meetings seek a peaceful resolution to the war that Russia started in Ukraine in 2014.
“Friends, I urge everyone: Don’t be careless with the quarantine rules. Wear masks, wash your hands. Keep your distance, while staying calm,” Yermak wrote.
Also on Nov. 9, Ukrainian media reported that the country’s finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, had also contracted COVID-19, citing a comment by lawmaker Iryna Vereshchuk.
Earlier this year, first Lady Olena Zelenska and Kyrylo Zelensky, her and the president’s son, also contracted COVID-19. They recovered from the disease in June. The President himself and their daughter Oleksandra remained healthy.
The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Ukraine continues to grow. The country has registered 8,687 new cases as of 9 a.m. on Nov. 9, bringing the total number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to 469,018. In total, 8,565 have died from the disease in Ukraine.
