Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tested positive for coronavirus and was treated in hospital last month but has since recovered, a source close to the exiled billionaire told AFP.

The 71-year-old lives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and spent a fortnight in hospital before being discharged in the middle of September, they said.

“It's true he was infected several weeks ago, but now he has recovered. He joked that he was on trend,” a source within Pheu Thai, a political party linked to Thaksin, told AFP, asking not to be named.

It is believed he contracted the virus after visiting a food court. Thaksin was ousted from power in a 2006 military coup and fled the country in 2008.