Top Colombian diplomat tests positive for COVID-19

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombia’s foreign minister tested positive Monday for the novel coronavirus.

In a message on the Foreign Ministry’s official Twitter account, Claudia Blum said the result of her test, which she had due to the detection of a COVID-19 case in her family, came back positive.

Blum said she was in good health and would be working from home.

Colombia’s first lady Maria Juliana Ruiz, Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez and Interior Minister Daniel Palacios had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Colombia has so far reported over 1.78 million cases and 46,114 deaths from the virus, while the country's tally of recoveries exceeds 1.62 million.

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.94 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

Over 90.8 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 50.2 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.

*Writing by Burak Dag in Ankara