Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Sunday he had tested positive for coronavirus and would stay at home for any treatment for the time being, as recommended by his doctors, Reuters reported.
Borissov, who met Keith Krach, US undersecretary of state for economic affairs, on Friday has informed the US Embassy in Sofia of the situation, the head of Sofia health inspectorate said.
The government press office said Borissov was able to carry out his duties and was in constant contact with his ministers as the country grapples with a spike in new coronavirus infections.
Borissov had self-isolated late on Friday after he was informed that a deputy minister who he had been in contact with five days ago had tested positive.
Health authorities lifted Borissov’s quarantine late on Saturday after two negative results from coronavirus tests, but then he tested positive on Sunday.
“Although my quarantine was lifted, since Friday I have postponed all my meetings and planned public appearances for the coming days,” the 61-year-old Prime Minister wrote in a post on his official Facebook account.
“After two PCR tests, as of today I am positive with COVID-19. I have a general malaise. For the moment, on the doctors’ discretion, I remain on home treatment,” he added.
It was not immediately clear if he was already receiving a specific treatment.
Borissov is the latest in a host of world leaders to have contracted the virus. Other leaders who have tested positive for the virus include Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive twice.
US President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 in early October and was subsequently hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center for several days.
Bulgaria, like many other European Union countries, is seeing a steep rise in new infections, noted Reuters. There were 1,043 new cases reported on Sunday in the country of 7 million people, bringing the total to 37,562, including 1,084 deaths.
Bulgaria’s capital Sofia and other cities across the country have closed nightclubs for two weeks.