Mexico president tests positive for Covid-19

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo / AP

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for Covid-19 and that the symptoms are mild.

Mexico's president, who has been criticized for his handling of his country's pandemic, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment.

"I regret to inform you that I am infected with Covid-19," he tweeted. "The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward."

López Obrador, 67, has long been criticised for not setting an example of prevention in public. He has rarely been seen wearing a mask and continued to keep up a busy travel schedule taking commercial flights.

He has resisted locking down the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on so many Mexicans who live day to day.

Early in the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, López Obrador removed two religious amulets from his wallet and proudly showed them off.

"The protective shield is the 'Get thee behind me, Satan,"' López Obrador said, reading off the inscription on the amulet, 'Stop, enemy, for the Heart of Jesus is with me'."

His announcement came shortly after news emerged that he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about obtaining doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.

Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter the two leaders would speak about the bilateral relationship and supplying doses of the vaccine.

The vaccine has not been approved for use in Mexico, but the government is desperate to fill supply gaps for the Pfizer vaccine. Mexico has given more than 618,000 vaccine doses.

Mexico has registered nearly 150,000 Covid-19 deaths and more than 1.7 million infections. Hospitals in the capital have been near capacity for weeks as a surge of cases followed the holiday season.