Russian Energy Minister tests positive for coronavirus hours before OPEC meeting

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has tested positive for coronavirus, Russian Prime Minister announced in a government meeting on Tuesday.

The news broke out hours before Novak was to participate in a video conference by the ministerial monitoring committee of OPEC and its allies.

Russian Energy Minister- Alexander Novak

“Unfortunately, Alexander Valentinovich Novak has been taken ill with the coronavirus”, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

Novak received the report after arriving in Blagoveshchensk to attend the meeting and the opening of a huge petro-chemical project near the Chinese border. He immediately left for Moscow after that.

“He arrived and he has left for Moscow. With all our hearts, we wish him a recovery,” said Mishustin.

However, Novak will still be attending the video conference of the OPEC+ group including Russia, an energy ministry spokesperson told the local media.

Novak is not the first to test positive from the Russian ministers. Leaders such as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other lawmakers have earlier tested positive.

Few days ago Russian President Vladimir Putin had claimed that Russia has produced world’s first COVID-19 vaccine.