German president tests positive for coronavirus

BERLIN (AA) – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said on Tuesday.

The PCR test results of both Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender have come back positive, and they are experiencing mild symptoms, according to a statement.

“The president and his wife immediately went into self-isolation. All close contacts are informed,” it said.

Germany is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks due to the spread of the highly contagious omicron sub-variant BA.2.

The Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control agency, confirmed 222,080 new COVID-19 cases and 264 related fatalities on Tuesday.

Despite the surge in new infections, the majority of new cases have been mild so far, not requiring hospitalization.