Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the heads of the State Duma's political groups had not been in contact with Sergei Katasonov, a lower house lawmaker who was recently quarantined after returning from France, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the heads of the State Duma's political groups had not been in contact with Sergei Katasonov, a lower house lawmaker who was recently quarantined after returning from France, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Katasonov defied the rules of the COVID-19 quarantine after returning from a personal trip to France. He came to work earlier this week, despite Moscow authorities ordering people returning from the hardest-hit countries of which France is one to spend 14 days in self-isolation. The chairman of the lower chamber, Viacheslav Volodin, recommended checks for everyone who had come in contact with Katasonov, and for the Rules and Control Committee of the State Duma to come up with an appropriate response.
"I am convinced that the president was not in contact with this lawmaker, this is a first. You all saw that he was on the podium, then was speaking from the podium, I do not think that this lawmaker spoke from this podium before Putin," Peskov said, answering a question whether any precautions would be taken after the president visited the State Duma.
Peskov added that everything was being done to protect the president from seasonal and other diseases. Moreover, the spokesman said that he did not have detailed information about Putin's health, noting that this information was not aimed at a wide audience.
"The president is working at full capacity, as always, that is what I can say," Peskov said.
