Honduran president hospitalised for Covid-19, treated for pneumonia

Published June 18, 2020
This undated handout image released by the Honduran Casa Presidencial shows Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez receiving a COVID-19 nasal swab test in Tegucigalpa. - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on June 16, 2020 that he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by - / Casa Presidencial de Honduras / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / CASA PRESIDENCIAL DE HONDURAS    " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS — AFP or licensors
This undated handout image released by the Honduran Casa Presidencial shows Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez receiving a COVID-19 nasal swab test in Tegucigalpa. - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on June 16, 2020 that he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by - / Casa Presidencial de Honduras / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / CASA PRESIDENCIAL DE HONDURAS " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS — AFP or licensors

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been hospitalised for Covid-19 and is being treated for pneumonia, a health official said on Wednesday, a day after the Central American leader's diagnosis was revealed.

While his condition is serious enough to require specialised medical care in a military hospital, including receiving medicines via intravenous drip, the president is generally in good heath, Francis Contreras, a spokesman for Honduran health agency SINAGER, told reporters outside the hospital.

This undated handout image released by the Honduran Casa Presidencial shows Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez receiving a Covid-19 nasal swab test in Tegucigalpa. — AFP
This undated handout image released by the Honduran Casa Presidencial shows Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez receiving a Covid-19 nasal swab test in Tegucigalpa. — AFP

When Hernandez announced his positive diagnosis late on Tuesday in a televised speech, he said his symptoms were mild and he was feeling better, adding that while his doctors recommended rest, he would work remotely and through his aides.

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