The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said on Thursday that he had tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) but that he was currently in good health and spirits.
In a “personal and very unusual” video statement, the 69-year-old Frenchman took to Twitter to “personally” announce that he had tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
Michel Barnier@MichelBarnier
Je tiens à vous informer que j’ai été testé positif #COVID19. Je vais bien, le moral est bon. Je suis naturellement toutes les instructions, tout comme mon équipe.
Mon message à tous ceux qui sont touchés ou actuellement isolés: nous nous en sortirons ensemble !. #chacunpourtous
“I am doing well and I am in strict confinement in my home,” Barnier said, adding that he was also “in good spirits.”
“I am following guidelines and my team is doing so as well,” he added. “I would like to address my solidarity to all the families affected by the virus as well as salute the remarkable job that is being done by health workers.”
“Each citizen has a role to play in this fight —this war— that we are waging against the virus,” Barnier said, urging citizens to abide by the measures rolled out by French and EU authorities.
News of Barnier’s Covid-19 status comes after an initial round of negotiations with the United Kingdom concluded on 5 March, which Barnier had said been “constructive” even as they revealed “serious discrepancies” between both parties.
On Monday, EU Commission Vice President, Frans Timmermans, went into self-isolation after coming in contact with a French government official who tested positive for the virus.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
