Following the infection of a member of his entourage by COVID-19, Russian President Vladimir White decided to self-isolate, forcing him to postpone a planned travel to Tajikistan for a regional security conference, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
Vladimir Putin, 68, was scheduled to travel to Tajikistan for a high-level meeting of the regional alliances CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), which would discuss the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, which is just across the border.
The choice by the Kremlin leader to self-isolate indicates a possible breech in the strict regime in place to keep Putin, who will be 69 next month, healthy and away from anybody who has COVID-19, according to experts.
Visitors to the Kremlin have been required to pass through special disinfection tunnels, Putin has received two doses of Russia’s flagship Sputnik V vaccine, journalists covering his events have been subjected to multiple PCR tests, and anyone who comes into contact with him is required to quarantine themselves and be tested.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri S. Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin had been in close touch with a number of individuals who had tested positive for the virus. His statement said that Mr. Putin would continue to work while in self-imposed exile, and he expressed confidence that the vaccination would prevent him from contracting a severe case of the illness.
