French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday he was doing fine a day after testing positive for Covid-19, but that he was working at a slower pace while he convalesced outside Paris.
Mr Macron said he would stay focused on France’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, as negotiations governing 1 trillion euros in trade between Britain and the European Union run down to the wire.
"I wanted to reassure you - I am doing fine
“I am working at a slightly slower pace because of the virus, but I shall continue to focus on high-priority issues, such as our handling of the epidemic, or, for example, the Brexit dossier,” Mr Macron said in a live video on Twitter.
Mr Macron had spoken several times to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the day to discuss the Brexit talks, a diplomat said.
The president, who was moved on Thursday night to a presidential retreat near the Palace of Versailles, said he did not expect his illness to take a more serious turn.
“I wanted to reassure you - I am doing fine. I have the same symptoms as yesterday, notably fatigue, headaches, a dry cough, like hundreds of thousands of you who have had to live with the virus or who are living with it today.”
He said he would give regular updates on his health and acknowledged that he may have contracted the illness during “a moment of negligence”. Mr Macron had numerous meetings with fellow European Union heads of government in recent days.
Statistics suggest Mr Macron is unlikely to suffer the worst symptoms of the disease as, at 42, he relatively young, he is a non-smoker who is not overweight and he has access to the best medical care.
Mr Macron urged citizens to be careful in the run-up to Christmas. The virus has killed about 60,000 people in France and daily new infections are once again trending higher after the government eased a second lockdown.
“The virus is on the move again. We must be vigilant,” Mr Macron said.
Results
5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Astral Del Sol, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Al Maryah Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Toumadher, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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