Russia: Putin's spokesman hospitalized with virus

Dmitry Peskov, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Tuesday he had been hospitalized with the coronavirus.

Peskov tweeted that he had fallen sick and was being treated.

This came less than two weeks after Peskov was last seen in public "at a meeting with Vladimir Putin," according to a tweet by reporters at the Kremlin pool.

But it was not clear whether this meant the two were in the same room, as Putin has been conducting all his meetings via teleconference in recent weeks.

Early on in the outbreak, the Russian president minimized meetings and switched to holding daily video calls with cabinet members and aides.

But on Tuesday, Putin held a face-to-face meeting with Igor Sechin, head of oil company Rosneft.

Peskov's announcement came just a day after Putin said Russia had been successful in slowing down infections and was set to ease the nationwide lockdown."

Peskov, who's 52, has worked with Putin for nearly two decades.

Russians who have the virus but display light or no symptoms are allowed to stay home, and it wasn’t immediately clear if Peskov's hospitalization reflected the gravity of his condition or was just an extra precaution.

Russia had recorded more than 232,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 2,100 virus-related deaths as of Tuesday.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin revealed on 30 April that he had tested positive for the virus and planned to self-isolate.

Mishustin’s spokesperson said Monday that the prime minister's health was improving, but gave no details about the severity of his condition.