Public Health

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tests positive for Covid

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s Prime Minister, said Monday he has tested positive for Covid-19 after recently returning from state visits to South Africa and Kenya.

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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has tested positive for Covid-19, days after returning from official visits to South Africa and Kenya.

“I am generally feeling ok but my doctors have advised me to self-isolate until I am asymptomatic,” Lee said Monday in a Facebook post. “They have also prescribed me Paxlovid, an antiviral medication, because of my age.”

Lee is 71-years-old and has been serving as prime minister of the Southeast Asian city-state since 2004. He was in South Africa and Kenya May 14-19, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Singapore is coming off an April peak in Covid-19 infections.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said May 9 that only about half of people in Singapore aged 60 and above have kept up-to-date with their Covid-19 vaccinations, down from 58% at the start of 2023.

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