Presidential: Marcelo takes diagnostic test and reassesses his situation on Saturday – Portugal

The President of the Republic and re-running for office, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, told Lusa today that, at the recommendation of the health authorities, he will undergo a new diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 and reassess his situation on Saturday.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told Lusa that, although he is registered for early voting in the municipality of Lisbon, next Sunday, he intends to vote for Celorico de Basto, in the district of Braga, on the day of the presidential elections, January 24, as usual. : “I vote for Celorico. I would only vote in Lisbon if I had to stay in Lisbon”.

The head of state and presidential candidate has been under passive surveillance since last week, having had contacts considered to be of low risk with two infected with the new coronavirus, so he must monitor symptoms and restrict social contacts, avoiding “large crowds” .

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that on Wednesday he made “a slight foray outside the Palace of Belém, to go to the last day of the opening of a used bookstore on Rua do Alecrim”, in Lisbon, where he bought some books , before recording an interview with Antena 1, in the public radio studios.

Today, he was at the National Museum of Ancient Art, in Lisbon, where he gave an interview to the French television channel M6, and will give an interview as President of the Republic to the French newspaper Le Monde, and on Friday he will go to the premises of the Renaissance to record a interview to this radio and the newspaper Público.

“Then, I will do an INEM test on Saturday. I was contacted to make an assessment of the situation on Saturday. They insisted a lot to avoid, for now, large agglomerations”, he added.

Asked if there will be other departures in the next few days, he replied: “I will be able to do more, let’s see, after Saturday’s test. It has to be seen on a case-by-case basis. except going to the Renaissance “.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been under passive surveillance since Wednesday of last week due to a contact with a member of his Civil House infected with SARS-CoV-2, which was considered low risk, which occurred two days earlier.

After a few hours of preventive isolation, until he received instructions from the health authorities, he participated that same evening on Wednesday, January 6, in a television face-to-face, as presidential candidate. The next day and Saturday he was in two other debates with his opponents on television, and on Friday he recorded an interview with TSF.

On Saturday, he told Lusa that until the 18th, when this 14-day period of self-surveillance would end, he had no planned actions – except interviews and debates – and that he would end his re-election campaign to the post of President of the Republic in Celorico de Basto , like five years ago.

On Sunday, the campaign for the 24th presidential election officially kicked off, and SIC spoke to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa outside the Palace of Belém, where the head of state declared that he would be “one day more President of the Republic than of candidate “, mainly dedicated to the preparation of the declaration of renewal of the state of emergency.

On Monday, the candidate supported by PSD and CDS-PP recorded yet another interview, on the podcast ‘”Asking No Offense”, by Daniel Oliveira, and at night it was known that he had had a positive result in a diagnostic test of the coronavirus, which led to isolation in the Palace of Belém.

This result was later confirmed by two negative results in tests carried out by the Ricardo Jorge Institute, with samples collected by the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).

However, on Tuesday another close case of infection was known, by the head of security of the President of the Republic, and while awaiting written instructions from the health authorities Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa ended up participating by videoconference, from his residence, in Cascais, in the district of Lisbon, in a debate on RTP with all presidential candidates.

On Tuesday morning, he also watched by videoconference the 14th epidemiological session on the situation of the covid-19 in Portugal and in the afternoon he consulted by political parties with parliamentary seat on the renewal of the state of emergency, which he would decree on the day following approval by the Assembly of the Republic.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the President of the Republic had already resumed the activity, because the health authorities assessed the contact with his head of security as also of low risk, with the consequent passive surveillance for 14 days.

Former PSD president and political commentator, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won the presidential elections of January 24, 2016 in the first round, with 52% of the votes cast.

He assumed the leadership of the State on March 9, 2016, succeeding Aníbal Cavaco Silva.

The other candidates for the 24th presidential election are Ana Gomes, Marisa Matias, João Ferreira, André Ventura, Tiago Mayan Gonçalves and Vitorino Silva.