Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun taking precautionary measures to protect himself against coronavirus, just one day after state media confirmed he had come in contact with a doctor who has since been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Kremlin announced Wednesday that Mr. Putin will conduct a government meeting by video conference and is distancing himself from others by working remotely.
Last week, a doctor who led Mr. Putin on a tour of the primary coronavirus hospital in Moscow last week has since been diagnosed with COVID-19.
State media reported Tuesday that Dr. Denis Protsenko, who had chatted with Mr. Putin at the Kommunarka hospital last week, had contracted the virus.
Video footage from the visit showed that neither Mr. Putin nor Mr. Protsenko were wearing protective gear during the meeting.
“Of course, now everyone is maintaining a social distance,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Reuters Wednesday. “Everyone is doing this.”
