French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for COVID-19

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Thursday.

A statement from Elysee Palace said Macron, 42, will self-isolate for seven days and continue to work.

French officials said Macron took a test as soon as first symptoms appeared, but did not specify which symptoms he has exhibited.

Officials also said French Prime Minister Jean Castex is self-isolating because he recently came into contact with Macron. Castex will not be present in the French Senate Thursday, but officials say he's so far shown no symptoms.

France is expected to start receiving more than a million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine by the end of the month.

Since a strict lockdown in November that followed surges in cases, France has reduced its case totals from a record of 60,000 in one day to about 14,000 per day now.

Macron joins a number of government leaders who have been sickened by the coronavirus this year. The list includes U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

A number of of White House residents and staffers have also picked up the disease, including first lady Melania Trump, Barron Trump, aide Hope Hicks, chief of staff Mark Meadows, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, adviser Stephen Miller and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went into quarantine Wednesday after he was exposed to the virus, the State Department said.