Vladimir Putin says ‘several dozen people’ in his inner circle caught COVID-19
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the coronavirus outbreak in his inner circle has affected “several dozen people.”
Speaking at a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit via videolink on Thursday, September 16, Putin explained that he couldn’t travel to Tajikistan for the event because he is self-isolating.
“Unfortunately, I had to cancel my visit to Dushanbe at the last minute, I’m very sorry. But this is due to the fact that in my inner circle, as you know, cases of the coronavirus have been identified. These are not one, not two, but several dozen people. And now [I] have to observe a self-isolation regimen for the duration of several days.”
Vladimir Putin went into self-isolation on September 14, cancelling his trip to Dushanbe to attend the CSTO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits. The president said that the day before, he was in contact with an employee of his administration who “got revaccinated a little late” and contracted COVID-19. Putin added that he himself has maintained high levels of antibodies ever since being vaccinated against the coronavirus with “Sputnik V.”
In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that Putin “feels great” in self-isolation and is “absolutely healthy.”