Portugal President Rebelo de Sousa tests COVID-19 positive

Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has tested positive for COVID-19 becoming the latest leader of a country to contract the virus.

His office said in a statement Monday that Rebelo de Sousa, who is amid a re-election campaign, has tested positive for the virus but was asymptomatic, and is now in isolation at his Lisbon home.

His schedule over the next few days, which included a presidential debate on Tuesday and a meeting with health officials, has been canceled, his office said, adding Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Health Minister Marta Temido have been informed.

Portugal has fewer than 500,000 infections and 8,000 deaths but has been experiencing escalating numbers in both categories as of late, reporting a record 10,176 infections and a record 118 deaths on Friday, according to data from Portugal's health agency DGS.

Due to the escalating numbers, the country is to enter a lockdown on Wednesday.

Rebelo de Sousa is the most recent head of a nation to contract the disease as several others have been infected, including U.S. President Donald Trump in October and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson in March, among others.

Worldwide, 90.8 million people have been sickened by the pandemic, nearly 2 million of who have lost their lives to the disease, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.