Coronavirus pandemic: Which politicians and celebs are affected? | News

The coronavirus pandemic has spread to at least 188 countries and territories, with the worldwide death toll from the virus surpassing 464,000.

Among the more than 8.8 million cases recorded globally are government officials, celebrities and sports personalities as authorities around the world grapple to contain the spread of the virus.

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Many high-profile events have been cancelled. They include the annual Met Gala – often referred to as fashion’s biggest night out – which was postponed indefinitely from its scheduled date in May, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the United States. 

The Cannes Film Festival, due to be held in France in May, has also been postponed, with organisers now looking at June or July dates.

Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, British actor Idris Elba, Britain’s Prince Charles, singer Pink and opera singer Placido Domingo are some of the best-known people to be infected so far. 

Who else has been affected? 

Government officials, spouses:

Kwaku Agyemang-Manu: Ghana’s health minister contracted COVID-19 “in the line of duty”, but is in a stable condition, the West African nation’s president said on June 14. 

Riek Machar: South Sudan’s Vice President and his wife Angelina Teny, who serves as defence minister, tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on May 18.

Dmitry Peskov: Kremlin spokesman said on May 12 he tested positive for coronavirus.

Ferozuddin Feroz: Afghanistan’s health minister contracted the COVID-19 disease on May 7 but recovered after two weeks of isolation at his residence.

Olga Lyubimova: Russia’s Culture Minister tested positive for the virus on May 6. Lyubimova has mild symptoms and is continuing to work remotely, conducting meetings online, her press secretary Anna Usacheva said.

Faisal Edhi: The head of Pakistan’s biggest charity organisation, the Edhi Foundation, and the son of world-renowned philanthropist, the late Abdul Sattar Edhi, has been tested positive for the coronavirus.

Asad Qaiser: Pakistan’s parliament speaker said he had tested positive for COVID-19 on May 1 after hosting an iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad: Pakistan’s railways minister tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a ministry statement on June 8. 

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: Pakistan’s former prime minister tested positive for coronavirus, his family and party confirmed on June 8. 

Carmen Calvo: Spain’s deputy prime minister tested positive for coronavirus on March 25, the Spanish government said.

Prince Charles: The Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne tested positive for the coronavirus on March 25. The 71-year-old is displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health”, said a spokesman for the Clarence House royal residence, adding that he was self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland. Prince Charles’s wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has also been tested but does not have the virus.

Abba Kyari:  The Nigerian president’s chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on March 24. In his 70s, Kyari is an important figure in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Rand Paul:  The Republican from Kentucky is the first US senator to test positive for coronavirus.

Prince Albert:  Monaco’s Prince Albert II has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the principality said in a statement on Thursday, adding there were “no concerns for his health” and that the titular head of the Mediterranean enclave is continuing to work from his private apartments at the royal palace.

Michel Barnier:  The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator said in a tweet that he has tested positive for the virus.

Bento Albuquerque: Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque has tested positive for coronavirus – the second cabinet member to be infected. 

Augusto Heleno: Brazil’s national security adviser said on March 18 on his Twitter account that he has tested positive for coronavirus, though he did not have any symptoms. Heleno, 72, a retired army general and one of Bolsonaro’s closest aides, said he is currently under isolation at his home while waiting for a second test.  

Jeremy Issacharoff: Israel’s ambassador to Germany has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement March 17. Issacharoff was reported to have contracted the virus following a meeting with a deputy from the Federal Assembly of Germany, whose name was not mentioned.

Friedrich Merz: The 64-year-old politician, who has been campaigning to lead Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at a congress planned for this year, said on Twitter on March 17 that he tested positive for coronavirus and was under self-isolation at home.

Kozo Tashima:  The head of Japan’s football association tested positive for the virus on March 17. Tashima is also deputy head of Japan‘s Olympic Committee.

Nadine Dorries:  A minister in the UK’s health department was the first British politician to test positive on March 10.

Peter Dutton:  The Australian home affairs minister was placed in isolation in hospital after contracting the virus.

Massoumeh Ebtekar:  The Iranian vice president is the country’s highest government official to be infected, while several other senior officials in the country, including Iraj Harirchi, Iran’s deputy health minister, were also stricken. Iran is the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East.

Sophie Gregoire Trudeau: On March 12, the wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 following a trip to the United Kingdom. Gregoire Trudeau said she planned to remain in isolation for the next two weeks, together with her husband. Her symptoms have been described as mild.

Begona Gomez: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife tested positive, officials in his office said late on Saturday. While Begona Gomez tested positive, the health of both she and the prime minister was fine, the officials said. Spain said it would place the entire country under lockdown as the number of diagnosed cases exceeded 6,000.

Quim Torra: The local leader of Spain’s Catalonia region said on March 16 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and that he was going into self-isolation in a government building.

Pere Aragones: The Catalan deputy head of government announced on March 15 that he had also tested positive for coronavirus.

Irene Montero: The Spanish minister tested positive on March 15 and has been put in isolation along with her partner, Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias. 

Franck Riester: Earlier this week, the French minister of culture said he was staying at his home in Paris after contracting the virus. France has also imposed a partial lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.

Francis Suarez:  The mayor of the US city of Miami confirmed, on March 13, that he has contracted COVID-19.

Fabio Wajngarten: The press secretary for Brazilian President Bolsonaro tested positive after he returned from a US trip where he met, among others, US President Trump, who later tested negative.

Michal Wos: Poland’s environment minister has tested positive for coronavirus, he said in a tweet on March 16.

Oumarou Idani: Burkina Faso’s minister of mines has tested positive.

Stanislas Ouaro: Burkina Faso’s minister of education is confirmed to have COVID-19.

Simeon Sawadogo: Burkina Faso’s interior minister has the new coronavirus.

Alpha Barry: Burkina Faso’s foreign minister tested positive for COVID-19, he said on Twitter on March 20.

Boris Johnson:The 55-year-old prime minister of the United Kingdom said on March 27 that he tested positive for coronavirus and was self-isolating. He was hospitalised on April 5 in what his office described as a “precautionary step”. Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit on April 6 after his symptoms worsened, and asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him “where necessary”.

Matthew Hancock: Britain’s Health Secretary Matthew Hancock announced on March 27 he tested positive for the coronavirus. Hancock said he would be self-isolating and working from home.

Alister Jack: Scottish Secretary and member of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet has developed symptoms of COVID-19.

Seyi Makinde: Nigeria’s Oyo State Governor has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Yaakov Litzman: Israel’s health minister and his wife tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 1. 

Ali Larijani: Iran’s parliament said on April 2 its speaker tested positive for the coronavirus and is in quarantine.

Zoran Zaev and Hristijan Mickoski: On April 10 the leaders of North Macedonia’s two biggest parties were ordered to self-isolate for two weeks after being interviewed by a TV reporter infected with coronavirus.

Khalif Mumin Tohow: The justice minister of Somalia’s autonomous Hirshabelle state died on April 12 after contracting the coronavirus. Tohow died in Mogadishu’s Martini hospital a day after he tested positive for COVID-19 in the town of Jowhar, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle.

Sekou Kourouma: The secretary general of Guinea and a former minister, died from COVID-19 in Conakry on April 18.

Nuno Gomes Nabiam: Guinea-Bissau’s prime minister, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus alongside three members of his cabinet, the West African country’s health ministry said on April 29.

Mikhail Mishustin: Russia’s prime minister, on April 30 said in a video meeting with President Vladimir Putin that he tested positive for coronavirus and will self-isolate to protect other cabinet members.

Senator Tim Kaine: Kaine of Virginia said he and his wife tested positive after taking coronavirus antibody tests on May 28. He said he initially thought he was suffering from remnants of an earlier bout with the flu and a high pollen count.

Nikol Pashinyan: The Armenian prime minister revealed on June 1 that he and his family have tested positive for the virus.

Prince Joachim: Nephew of Belgium’s King Philippe tested positive June 1 for coronavirus after attending a party in Spain. The prince, 28, is tenth in line to the Belgian throne.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: The former Pakistan prime minister, and senior leader of the opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was reported positive for COVID-19 on June 8.

Shehbaz Sharif: Pakistan’s main opposition leader, and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), tested positive for coronavirus, his family and party confirmed on June 11. 

Juan Orlando Hernandez: The president of Honduras said on June 16 that he tested positive for coronavirus. He was hospitalised the next day, and he is currently being treated for pneumonia. The president’s wife Ana Garcia also tested positive, along with two presidential aides, but has not presented any symptoms of the disease.  

Nursultan Nazarbayev: Kazakhstan’s 79-year-old former president and official ‘Leader of the Nation’  tested positive for the coronavirus on June 18. 

Celebrities:

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: The popular Hollywood couple announced on March 11 that they were infected and were admitted to a Gold Coast hospital in Australia. 

Idris Elba: The British actor and musician said he has tested positive for COVID-19 on March 16 in a video posted on social media and that, although he had no symptoms so far, he was isolating himself from others. 

This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 16, 2020

Kristofer Hivju: The 41-year-old actor, who played Tormund on Game of Thrones, tested positive for the new coronavirus on March 17. Known for his fiery red hair and beard, he said he and his family were in self-isolation at home in Norway.

Debi Mazar: known for her roles in Entourage and Goodfellas, shared a lengthy Instagram post in late March about her experience with COVID-19.

Daniel Dae Kim: The South Korean-American actor best known for the television series Hawaii Five-0, said on Thursday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Kim, speaking from his home in Hawaii, announced the news in an Instagram posting and video.

Placido Domingo: On March 22, the Spanish opera singer said he had tested positive for coronavirus and had gone into self-isolation with his family. 

Andy Cohen: The US radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer tested positive for the coronavirus on March 20.

Chris Cuomo: The CNN news anchor was diagnosed with COVID-19 and will be working from home, the network said in a memo to employees on March 31.

Pink: On April 3, American singer Alecia Beth Moore, known as Pink, announced on Twitter she and her three-year-old son had spent two weeks in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus. They had both recovered, the singer said, announcing she was donating $1 million to help fight the pandemic.

Brooke Baldwin: the CNN anchor who works with Chris Cuomo, said she had been diagnosed with the virus and had been following all the recommendations.

David Bryan: Bon Jovi keyboard player said on social media that he has tested positive for coronavirus. He didn’t specify how he contracted the virus.

Kiran Kumar: The 74-year-old Indian actor is under home quarantine after he tested positive on May 24. The actor said he asymptomatic and is doing ‘absolutely fine’.

Andrea Bocelli: The world famous Italian tenor who gave a virtual concert in Milan’s Duomo on April 12, revealed on May 26 that he had contracted and recovered from COVID-19 in early March. 

Wajid Khan: Bollywood music director Wajid Khan was laid to rest after he passed away on June 1 in a Mumbai hospital due to coronavirus complications.