ARCHIVED - Spanish government Minister tests positive for coronavirus

The Unidas Podemos leader and vice-president of the government Pablo Iglesias is in quarantine

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread rapidly in Spain it is becoming clear that the political leaders of the country are far from being immune, and on Thursday morning it was announced that Irene Montero, the Minister for Equality, has tested positive for Covid-19.

As a precautionary measure, her partner Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the Unidas Podemos party and Second Vice-President of Spain’s coalition government, has been placed in quarantine.

This explains the surprising absence of Sr Iglesias from public life over the last few days, which had led to a certain amount of speculation that he was either ill or had become strangely reticent in making his views on the coronavirus crisis known.

Ayer le hicieron la prueba del Coronavirus a Irene Montero y ha dado positivo. Por indicación de las autoridades sanitarias, yo también participaré en el #CMin a distancia y me quedaré en casa hasta saber el resultado de mi prueba. Tanto Irene como los peques y yo estamos bien

— Pablo Iglesias 🔻 (@PabloIglesias) March 12, 2020

At the same time, it leads to concerns that the virus could be spreading among members of parliament, following the revelation recently that Javier Ortega Smith, the general secretary of the far-right Vox party (at the other end of the political spectrum from Unidas Podemos) has also tested positive. Vox was heavily criticized for allowing Sr Ortega Smith to take part in a mass meeting in Vistalegre (Madrid) on 8^th March despite already presenting symptoms of infection, and the party has since apologized for its “mistake”.

A second Vox MP, Carlos Zambrano, has also tested positive, and after numerous members of Vox from the Region of Murcia attended the meeting in Vistalegre the regional parliament building in Cartagena has specially disinfected the part of the building occupied by the Vox offices.

Elsewhere in the Region Vox councillors are working from home rather than visiting their respective Town Halls, and José Ángel Antelo, a former professional basketball player who is now one of the leaders of Vox in the Region of Murcia, is among those calling for the immediate closure of schools, universities and nursery schools.

Further evidence that the Covid-19 virus does not distinguish among different political ideologies is the case of Ana Pastor, a doctor by profession and, until last year, speaker of the Spanish Congress. Sra Pastor, a widely respected politician among all groups, announced on Wednesday that she too has tested positive,

Image 1: Irene Montero at a Women’s Rights march in Madrid last weekend

Image 2: Pablo Iglesias

Click here for the latest official figures regarding the coronavirus epidemic in Spain and the measures implemented by the national and regional governments.

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