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World / Americas

Colombia's defense minister in intensive care with COVID-19

Published: 18 Jan 2021 - 11:39 pm | Last Updated: 14 Nov 2021 - 02:06 pm
FILE PHOTO: Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo attends a news conference following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo attends a news conference following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Reuters

BOGOTA - Colombia's Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo is in intensive care after being infected with the coronavirus, the government said on Monday.

Trujillo tested positive for the virus last week, a day after the Ministry of Foreign affairs reported that Foreign Minister Claudia Blum had tested positive for coronavirus.

"The Defense Minister ... continues to be hospitalized and in critical care," the president's office said in a statement. A spokesman confirmed this meant an intensive care unit.

The minister is suffering from coronavirus infection and viral pneumonia, the statement said.

Other notable people infected with coronavirus include first lady Maria Juliana Ruiz, who tested positive in November, and Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez, who tested positive in October.

President Ivan Duque has not tested positive. Duque has regular coronavirus tests because of his high level of exposure and busy schedule.

The Andean country has reported more than 1.9 million coronavirus infections, as well as over 48,600 deaths due to COVID-19, the disease it causes.