Mexican president says in good health as aide contracts COVID-19

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during the laying of the first stone of the “Tren Maya” tourist train, in El Ideal, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, on June 1, 2020. Lopez Obrador inaugurated the construction of the Izamal-Cancun section of the Tren Maya on Monday, the flagship project of his government which he hopes to turn into an engine for economic reactivation in the face of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Elizabeth RUIZ / AFP

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador insisted Monday he was in good health and had no symptoms of coronavirus after a top official in his government tested positive for the virus.

“I don’t get tested because I don’t have symptoms. Fortunately, I’m fine, and I look after myself,” the president told reporters at his daily press conference in Mexico City.

The country’s social security chief Zoe Robledo said Sunday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating with his family. Robledo regularly appears at Lopez Obrador’s daily press conferences.

The president, who toured the country last week to visit public work sites, said no member of his team had presented pandemic-related health problems.

“There hasn’t been any problem in the presidency, those around me are maintaining social distancing measures,” he said.

The president, known for embracing and kissing his supporters, admitted “it affects me a lot” by having to keep a distance. However he acknowledged that the social distancing requirement is part of “the new normal.”

Mexico, which has a population of 127 million people, is second only to Brazil as the country with most COVID-19 deaths in Latin America.

The health ministry has to date reported almost 120,000 infections and nearly 14,000 deaths.