Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in hospital with coronavirus

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – 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.