GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has almost recovered from a bout of COVID-19, the government said on Friday, wishing his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump a speedy convalescence from the disease caused by coronavirus.
Giammattei, who confirmed last month he had contracted the disease, has described himself as a high risk patient because of pre-existing conditions and excess body weight. However, he has mostly remained in the public eye during his illness.
His spokesman said he was now feeling better.
“He just needs to do a COVID-19 test to know it’s negative,” presidential spokesman Francis Masek said.
The U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump confirmed they had the illness late on Thursday, becoming the highest profile members of a relatively short list of world leaders and their relatives who have tested positive, including four Latin American heads of state.
The Guatemalan government said it wishes the U.S. president and first lady a speedy recovery, according to a foreign ministry tweet later on Friday.
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who suffered a fairly severe case of COVID-19 and was hospitalized earlier in the year, also sent wishes to the Trumps.
(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Flynn)
