VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER JUAN GUAIDO TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

Sun 28 March 2021:

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he has contracted the coronavirus but only has mild symptoms.

“…I want to responsibly inform the country that, after four days of quarantine as a result of some discomforts and despite having taken precautions, I have tested positive for Covid-19,” Guaido said in a Saturday Twitter post.

He added that his symptoms are “mild” and that he is in isolation and has informed all the people he had come into contact with recently.

“The pandemic has reminded us of our vulnerability as human beings. This danger is real and we are all at risk,” Guaido said.

In January 2019, Venezuela plunged into a political crisis when the then-head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust reelected President Nicolas Maduro from power.

In December 2020, Venezuela held parliamentary elections in which over 100 political parties and associations took part. Over 20 parties, including the opposition bloc of Juan Guaido, refused to participate in the vote. The socialist Simon Bolivar Great Patriotic Pole alliance (GPPSB) took 91.34 percent of the parliamentary seats, according to election results released by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

Later in December, Juan Guaido said that Venezuela’s opposition lawmakers would continue their work despite the parliamentary elections held earlier that month.

Venezuela has received 700,000 doses, of which 500,000 were donated by China’s Sinopharm and the rest are Russia’s Sputnik V. Opposition leaders are separately negotiating to buy vaccines via the COVAX program using funds frozen in the United States.

Venezuela’s official figures as of Saturday showed 155,663 cases of coronavirus and 1,555 deaths, though opposition critics say the actual figure is likely higher due to limited testing.