Putin’s Spokesman Peskov Hospitalized for Coronavirus

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to Russian news agencies.  
 
“Yes, I am sick. I am receiving treatment,” the Interfax news agency quoted Dmitry Peskov as saying Tuesday.  
 
The 52-year-old Peskov said he last had a face-to-face meeting with Putin more than one month ago, according the TASS news agency.
 
Kremlin pool reporters said on Twitter that Peskov’s last known public appearance was on April 30 during a meeting with Putin. The posting did not clarify whether the two were in the same room.
 
Putin has been holding meetings by teleconference in recent weeks as he works from his home outside Moscow.
 
Peskov is the latest high-profile Russian official to contract the new virus. Others have been Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and Construction Minister Vladimir Yakushev.
 
Russia is second only to the U.S. in coronavirus cases after a new surge in infections. Despite the uptick, Russian construction and factory workers returned to work on Tuesday.
 
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