Macron of France accused his COVID of negligence and misfortune

PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron has blamed his COVID-19 for negligence and misfortune, urging his comrades to be safe as critics call slip-ups in his behavior to prevent infection. Handshake for the big group meal again last week.

Macron, who looked like a self-shot video of the president’s retreat in Versailles, which had been isolated with symptoms including headaches, fatigue and a dry cough, promised to provide daily updates and to be “completely transparent” about the evolution of his disease.

“I’m fine,” he said softly, dressed casually on top of a turtle. “In general, there’s no reason to develop it in a bad way.”

The 42-year-old French leader said his infection “shows that the virus can actually infect everyone, because I am very protected and very careful.”

“After all, I caught this virus – perhaps, no doubt, a moment of indifference, a moment of misfortune,” he said.

Fellow European leader Slovak Prime Minister Igor Madovic, who spent time with Macron at the EU summit last week, tested positive for the virus on Friday. Some other leaders who attended the summit said the test was negative, some had not been tested and others had not yet announced the results of their tests.

In France, Macron has faced criticism for actions that are considered a bad example because the country is seeing a new improvement in confirmed cases, and doctors are warning families to take precautionary measures this holiday season – especially at the dinner table.

Although Macron usually wears a mask and adheres to the rules of social distance, and insists that his viral strategy is driven by science, the president has recently been caught on camera violating France’s virus control guidelines.

He shook hands and hugged Angel Currie, head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, at a meeting on Monday. Both were wearing masks, but Macron’s office acknowledged Friday that the move was a “mistake.”

Last week, Macron held two days of intensive talks with the leaders of the other 26 member states at the EU summit in Brussels. Video excerpts released by the EU showed the leaders spread out in a circle in a large meeting room – most of Macron and other leaders were not hidden.

In the days leading up to the positive Thursday test, Macron served or participated in several large group dinners in which French people, including members of his centrist party and rival politicians, are currently advised to avoid meetings larger than six. His office has been contacting those who came to dine, but told some who sat far away from the president that they were not considered at risk.

Macron’s office did not provide details of his treatment. He is staying at La Lantern’s presidential residence in the former royal city of Versailles, trapped in a grove heavily guarded by police.

As French families prepare for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Macron’s positive test comes as French health officials are once again seeing an increase in infections and warning of more. France recorded another 18,254 new infections on Thursday, and its death toll is less than 60,000.

The French company Bashar released a study on Friday that meal time in the home and public space is the main source of pollution. Pastor epidemiologist Arnaud Fontaine said on France-Inter radio during the holidays on Friday, “We can see each other, there can simply not be many, and there are not many at the same table, at crucial moments during meal time.”

Macron underwent an examination Thursday morning “as soon as the first symptoms appeared,” and the president said he would be isolated for seven days on the recommendations of national health officials. Macron plans to continue working, advancing with a planned speech via video conference on Thursday.

At the EU summit in Brussels last week, the French health minister suggested that Macron may have been affected, but Macron also held several meetings in Paris.

France had Europe’s first case of the virus in January, but Macron’s government has been criticized for not having enough masks or tests and not controlling people quickly. The severe two-month lockdown reduced infections, sending children back to school in France and sending their parents back to work.

But infections have exacerbated this fall, so he announced a new, softer lock in October aimed at reducing stress in hospitals. Activities have eased slightly this week, although restaurants, tourist sites, gyms and some other facilities have been closed.

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Leicester report from Le Beck, France. Carol Janicek in Prague, Catherine Cashca in Paris and Raf Kassart in Brussels.