MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday he is doing well after being diagnosed with COVID-19 for the second time, in a video message played at a regular morning news conference.
Lopez Obrador, who announced he had tested positive on Monday evening, said in the video he would continue working. He urged Mexicans to keep looking after themselves, but not to be alarmed as the Omicron variant fueled a jump in cases.
“Fortunately, this is a variant that does have the level of danger as the Delta variant,” said Lopez Obrador, 68.
Health Minister Jorge Alcocer told reporters he expected the president to need about a week to recover, and that he could be returning to the daily news conferences next week.
Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez has taken charge of the news conferences in Lopez Obrador’s absence.
“Fortunately he’s doing well, without serious symptoms,” Lopez said of the president before Lopez Obrador’s video message. “He’s resting, as is medically required, and we hope he feels better in the next few days.”
(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; editing by Cassandra Garrison)
