STOCKHOLM ( Associated Press) – Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has tested positive for COVID-19, her office said on Friday.
The Swedish leader took part in a debate in parliament with other party leaders earlier this week and since then at least two other top politicians have also tested positive.
His office told Swedish news agency TT that Andersen “is following the current recommendations and will work from home.” Anderson is doing fine, his office said.
After Wednesday’s debate in the 349-seat Riksdagen, center party leader Annie Loof and smaller Green party chief Per Boland also tested positive. Later, while talking to the media, he started coughing.
On Twitter, Bolund wrote on Thursday that a quick test gave him the result and that he immediately went into isolation as recommended by the Swedish Public Health Agency.
Swedish broadcaster SVT said other party leaders participating in the debate have all tested negative.
Former finance minister, Andersen became Sweden’s first female prime minister in November. She is the leader of Sweden’s largest Social Democratic Party.
For most of the pandemic, Sweden stood out among European nations for its comparatively hands-on response. The Scandinavian country never went into lockdown or closed businesses, relying on citizens’ sense of civic duty to control infections. Officials have emphasized individual responsibility rather than government health measures.
In neighboring Finland, former President Martti Ahtisaari’s office said he had recovered from a second coronavirus infection he contracted in December and had been discharged from hospital. The 84-year-old is “well and continues to be healthy,” said the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Initiative, or CMI, which Ahtisari founded in 2000.
Ahtisari, who was the head of state of the Nordic country from 1994-2000, also contracted the disease in March 2020.
Winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his work resolving international conflicts, he has Alzheimer’s disease and has withdrawn from all public activities.
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