This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/12/vladimir-putin-spokesman-dmitry-peskov-hospital-coronavirus
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in hospital with coronavirus | Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in hospital with coronavirus |
(32 minutes later) | |
Dmitry Peskov confirms to Russian media that he is being treated for Covid-19 | Dmitry Peskov confirms to Russian media that he is being treated for Covid-19 |
Vladimir Putin’s press secretary has been diagnosed with coronavirus and is being treated in hospital. | |
“Yes, I am sick, and receiving treatment,” Dmitry Peskov told Russian outlets by telephone on Tuesday. He said he had not seen Putin in person for more than a month. | |
He has been the Russian president’s spokesman for nearly two decades and is seen as one of his closest aides. | |
The Russian prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, also has Covid-19 and is being treated in hospital, though he was well enough to take part in a government video call in recent days. Two cabinet ministers have also contracted the virus. | |
During a trip by Putin to a coronavirus ward in March, Peskov was the only person in the president’s entourage to wear a mask. Since then, Putin has mostly been working from a windowless office at his residence outside Moscow and conducting most government business by video link. He is being tested regularly for coronavirus, aides have said. | During a trip by Putin to a coronavirus ward in March, Peskov was the only person in the president’s entourage to wear a mask. Since then, Putin has mostly been working from a windowless office at his residence outside Moscow and conducting most government business by video link. He is being tested regularly for coronavirus, aides have said. |
On Tuesday, he was pictured meeting in person with Igor Sechin, a close ally and the head of Rosneft oil company. Neither wore a mask, though they did sit far apart across a table. | |
Russian media reported that Peskov’s wife, Tatiana Navka, a former Olympic champion ice dancer, was also ill with coronavirus. She and Peskov are in hospital but reports suggest neither are in a critical condition. | |
Russia has more than 220,000 coronavirus cases, and the second-highest rate of growth in the world after the US. On Monday, Putin announced an end to a nationwide lockdown but said regional leaders would remain free to keep restrictions in place. | |
Moscow accounts for more than half of infections in Russia, and the city authorities have said strict restrictions will remain in place until at least the end of May. |
Previous version
1
Next version