Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal has tested positive for Coronavirus. It was confirmed on Monday night in a statement broadcasted on the official website of the Portuguese Presidency.
The 72-year-old who started his government in 2016 and is seeking a second term in the country’s presidential election on January 24, is reportedly asymptomatic. Due to his infection, the president is self-isolating in a residential area in Belem, in the west of central Lisbon, and has suspended all his agenda for the coming days
The president is largely a figurehead in Portugal, where the prime minister and his cabinet are in charge of day-to-day affairs. Though he is restricted by his sickness he wields large influence nevertheless, and the authority to appoint the prime minister and dissolve parliament still lies in his hands.
