Putin in self-isolation after Covid cases in ‘innermost’ circle

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<strong>Russian President Vladimir Putin put himself under self-isolation today after several people in his "immediate circle" were infected with the Covid-19 virus.  <br />
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According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, 68-year-old Putin is "absolutely healthy" and also tested negative for the virus.<br />
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The Russian President is fully vaccinated with Sputnik V and also held several virtual meetings on Tuesday. It was reported that, during a videoconference with government officials and members of the ruling United Russia party, Putin said that several people in his "immediate circle" were infected with the virus, including a staff member who he was in close contact with throughout Monday.<br />
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"Several people have fallen ill in my innermost circle, one of these people is a person who works in direct proximity with me. He was vaccinated," Russian news agency Tass quoted Putin as saying on Tuesday.<br />
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"It seems that he took too long to get revaccinated.," Putin added while revealing that the close contact's antibody titer had dropped when he fell ill three days after receiving a revaccination shot.<br />
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Putin had also met visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin yesterday.<br />
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Peskov also told reporters that a meeting between Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi has been postponed "until the next opportunity" due to the Russian leader’s self-isolation.<br />
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Putin was also scheduled to travel to Tajikistan this week to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Leaders Summit in Dushanbe.<br />
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He will now be virtually participating in a session of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO, a session of the SCO Council of heads of state and a joint session of the SCO and the CSTO heads of state.</p>
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