See World Leaders That Have So Far Contracted COVID-19 

Argentinian President Alberto Fernández tested positive for Covid-19 during the weekend, despite taking the vaccine over two months ago.

This made the South-American leader the latest addition to the growing list of world leaders and politicians who have contracted the novel coronavirus since the pandemic was declared in March last year.

The novel virus has since spread to every continent on the planet, and although vaccine rollout has begun to pick up speed, hundreds of thousands of cases are still being reported every day.

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As the past year showed us, world leaders and the elite population have not been spared by the ravaging plague. As of the time of reporting, at least 23 world leaders have tested positive for coronavirus, with two deceased.

Our correspondents have compiled a list of world leaders who have at some point over the last year contracted the virus.

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Sophie Gregoire Trudeau (March 12, 2020) Wife of Canadian Prime Minister
On March 12th, 2020, a day after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19. Sophie Trudeau supposedly contracted the virus in London, and only showed mild symptoms. 

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Prince Albert (March 19, 2020) – Prince of Monaco
On March 19, 2020, Monaco’s Royal Palace released a statement saying that Monaco’s Prince Albert II had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Prince continued to work howbeit from a private office at home and successfully recovered. 

Prince Charles (March 25, 2020) – Prince of Whales
Britain’s Prince Charles, 71, tested positive for the coronavirus on the 25th of March, 2020. The prince of Wales and heir to the British throne only displayed mild symptoms, however, and successfully recovered after following Covid-19 protocol.

Boris Johnson (March 27, 2020) – UK Prime Minister
The 55-year-old prime minister of the United Kingdom said on March 27 that he tested positive for coronavirus and was self-isolating.
On April 5, he was hospitalised in what was called a “precautionary step”. Johnson was then moved to the intensive care unit on April 6 after his symptoms worsened. The prime minister has since recounted his ordeal, expressing gratitude to the National Health Service staff for saving his life when his condition could have “gone either way”.

Ali Larijani (April 2, 2020) – Iranian Speaker
Iran’s parliament said on April 2 its speaker tested positive for the coronavirus. The virus ravaged the country’s parliament with at least 23 of the legislature’s 290 members testing positive for the virus. 

Mikhail Mishustin (April 30, 2020) – Russian Prime Minister
Russia’s prime minister on April 30 revealed in a video meeting with President Vladimir Putin that he tested positive for coronavirus.  He then underwent self-isolation to protect other cabinet members. He successfully recovered. 

Riek Machar (May 18, 2020) – Vice President of South Sudan
South Sudan’s vice president and his wife Angelina Teny, who serves as defence minister, tested positive for the coronavirus on May 18. The VP ordered every member of the country’s Covid Task Force to be tested after reports that one member of the group had contracted the virus. He recovered successfully. 

Nikol Pashinyan (June 1, 2020) – Armenian Prime Minister
The Armenian prime minister revealed on June 1 that he and his family tested positive for the virus. 
“I didn’t have any symptoms, I decided to take a test as I was planning to visit the frontline,” Pashinyan had said during a Facebook live video.
He successfully recovered after following Covid-19 guidelines. 

Juan Orlando Hernandez (June 16, 2020)
The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him.

Hernandez said he had started what he called the “MAIZ treatment,” an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. 

He was briefly hospitalised and released.

He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, charging the UN and other relevant bodies to not “let people die”. 

Jair Bolsonaro (July 7, 2020)
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro announced his illness in July and waxed lyrical publicly concerning hydroxychloroquine. 

The conservative president had championed the unproven malaria drug as a treatment for COVID-19 and said that he was taking it as well. 

For months, Bolsonaro underestimated the virus, terming it a “little flu”. He often flouted social distancing rules at lively demonstrations and encouraged the gathering of crowds. He was also often seen without a mask.
The Covid situation in the country progressively worsened, and reports now say that the country’s healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the pandemic. 

Jeanine Anez (July 9, 2020) – President of Bolivia
Bolivian president Jeanine Anez announced that she had tested positive for Covid in July 2020. This development demonstrated the spread of the virus on the South-American continent as it slowly became the new epicentre of the virus. 

The caretaker leader announced that she would continue to work from home and that she had not had any symptoms.  

Alexander Lukashenko (July 28, 2020) – President of Belarus
The president of Belarus who famously dismissed concerns about the virus as “psychosis” announced that he had contracted the virus in late July 2020. 

The European leader however said that he was asymptomatic, and it is also noted that Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the spread of the virus.
The controversial Lukashenko was also once quoted recommending vodka consumption to stay healthy. 

Silvio Berlusconi (September 2, 2020) – Italian ex-prime minister
Italy’s former prime minister tested positive for COVID-19 on September 2 along with two of his children. 
The Italian statesman was admitted to the hospital after contracting the virus and was termed asymptomatic. He finished his quarantine period in his abode. 

Alejandro Giammattei (September 18, 2020) – President of Guatemala
The newly elected Guatemalan President, Alejandro Giammattei, announced that he had contracted the virus in mid-September of 2020. 

Giammattei, 64, reported showing typical symptoms of high fever and body aches. The senior citizen, who is also suffering from multiple sclerosis, embarked on self-isolation after being treated at the Centro Medico Militar in Guatemala City.

Donald and Melania Trump (October 2, 2020) ex-President and First Lady of USA
The former US president said on Twitter on October 2 that and he and Melania contracted the virus and were in quarantine.

President Trump was also among the world leaders who initially underestimated the virus, and was accused of downplaying the pandemic that had killed more than 300,000 Americans at the time.

At 74, the US president was the oldest head of state to become infected with the virus to date, and his age put him at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19. 

Trump was hospitalised for three days, and after staging a dramatic return to the White House, he continued to minimise the severity of the virus.

Andrzej Duda (October 23, 2020) – President of Poland
Polish president Andrzej Duda tested positive for the virus on the 23rd of October, 2020.  

“I didn’t have and I don’t have any symptoms, especially the serious ones like lack of taste or lack of smell, but the result of the test is absolutely clear,” Mr Duda had said in a video message posted on Twitter.

The president then embarked on self-isolation with his wife and has since recovered successfully. 

Boyko Borissov (October 25, 2020) – Bulgarian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov tested positive for the novel virus in late-October, 2020. 
Borissov reportedly postponed all meetings and planned public appearances for subsequent days and self-isolated at home.

The prime minister, 61, was also very cooperative and said that he will “strictly follow the orders of the health authorities”.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune (November 3, 2020) – President of Algeria
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune reportedly tested positive for Covid in early November last year. 

The president, 74, is also popularly known as a heavy smoker and was considered a high-risk patient. 
The office of the president later reported that the president continued to receive treatment in a specialised German hospital after catching the illness.

Ambrose Dlamini (Deceased, Tested positive November 16, 2020) – Eswatini’s Prime Minister
 The prime minister of Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, died in a South African hospital on December 14, the first sitting leader to have passed from COVID-19. The African leader died on the 13th of December, after an almost month-long battle with illness. 

No cause of death was mentioned in the government statement that announced the passing of Dlamini, 52. 

Emmanuel Macron (December 17, 2020) – President of France
The French president tested positive for COVID-19 on December 17.
The 43-year-old entered self-isolation at Versailles, on the outskirts of the French capital, Paris.
Macron had he would continue to tackle top-priority issues such as France’s response to the pandemic and Brexit, howbeit at a slower pace. 
The young president made a full recovery. 

Milorad Dodik (December 22nd, 2020) Leader, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Serb chairman of Bosnia’s three-man inter-ethnic presidency, Dodik tested positive for COVID-19 after he had been hospitalised over nausea and stomach pains, the Banja Luka University Clinical Centre said on Tuesday.

“He has been diagnosed with pneumonia … and tested positive for the new coronavirus,” the clinic said in a statement.

Dodik’s condition was, however, stabilized. 

The 61-year-old leader was originally hospitalised on December 20. His aides said he had been self-isolating following a meeting with a person infected with COVID-19 four days earlier.

John Magufuli (Deceased on March 17, 2021) – ex-President of Tanzania
John Magufuli, the ex-President of Tanzania, died on the 17th of March, 2021 after being absent from the public eye since the 27th of February in the same year. 

Opposition politicians said that the late Magufuli had contracted the virus, although this claim has not been confirmed by the office of the presidency. 

The late Tanzanian President was one of the most prominent sceptics of the coronavirus, calling for prayers and herbal remedies to be used to counter the virus. 

The worldwide death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic stands at more than 1.7 million deaths. 

More than 78 million cases have been recorded globally since the outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.