The President of Portugal is Placed in Quarantine Due to the Coronavirus

The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has been placed in voluntary quarantine due to the coronavirus epidemic. He will be monitored in his residence for two weeks in case he could be infected with the deadly virus. He does not show any symptoms so far, though.

The reason for the isolation is that last Tuesday students of a school visited the headquarters of the presidency, the Belém Palace. A student of the school tested positive for COVID-19 three days later, wherein the school shut down immediately. The student was not present at the visit to the palace but could have previously infected other students that did attend.

As Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is 71 years old, the Presidency of Portugal has chosen not to take any risks. He will live at his home in Cascais during the isolation, instead of at the Belém Palace. An official statement has been released from the Presidency with the following information:

“Given what is known today and was not known last Tuesday, after listening to the health authorities, the president of the Republic has decided to cancel all his public activity, even in spite of not having viral symptoms.”