The 72-year-old who took office in 2016 and is seeking a second term in the country’s presidential election on January 24, is reportedly asymptomatic. The president is self-isolating in a residential area in Belem, in the west of central Lisbon and has suspended all his agenda for coming days

The president is largely a figurehead in Portugal, where the prime minister and his cabinet are in charge of day-to-day affairs. He wields large influence nevertheless, and he holds the authority to appoint the prime minister and dissolve parliament.

According to the statement, the president received a group of students from a school in northern Portugal last Tuesday at an event and took photos with them. Four days later, a student from the school was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19.

The statement reads “Having listened to the health authorities, the President of the Republic, despite not having any viral symptoms, decided to cancel all his public activity… during the next two weeks. At the moment when all the Portuguese demonstrate high civic maturity in the face of the viral outbreak, the President of the Republic understands that he must give a reinforced example of prevention”.