Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), has said that he is self-quarantining after someone he was in contact with tested positive for COVID-19.
In a tweet late on Sunday, he added that he was symptom-free and feeling well.
“I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home,” Tedros said.
Tedros’s comments came as several European nations, including Switzerland, where the WHO has its headquarters, wound back the clocks to the spring with fresh lockdowns and restrictions aimed at halting soaring cases and deaths.
Geneva, the Swiss capital, declared a fresh state of emergency on Sunday and said it would go beyond national measures and shut down all bars, restaurants and non-essential shops.
Authorities in the region of some 500,000 people said the new measures were needed due to surging cases – with more than 1,000 positive daily tests in recent days – and also ballooning numbers of COVID-19 patients in Geneva hospitals and emergency care units.