"I have just learned that the coronavirus tests that I have carried out are positive," he said during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin broadcast on television, adding that he was placing himself in isolation and suggesting that his deputy, Deputy Prime Minister Andreï Belooussov, replace him during this period. "The government will continue to work as usual. I plan to be on the phone with my colleagues and by video conference with you," added Mikhaïl Michoustine, 54.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Thursday April 30
Vladimir Putin regularly shown by videoconference
In response, Vladimir Putin wished his Prime Minister a good recovery, adding that he wanted to "thank him for the work accomplished so far". "What happens to you can happen to anyone [...] I hope that you remain able to work and that you will participate actively" in the government's decisions, added the Russian president.
In the wake of this conversation, a decree formalizing the appointment to the post of interim Prime Minister of Andrei Belooussov was published on the Kremlin website.
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Vladimir Putin, 67, has not been seen recently with his Prime Minister. Since the beginning of April, especially after a doctor he had just met had tested positive for the coronavirus, the Russian president has been regularly shown holding videoconferences, in particular with members of the government or regional governors.