Argentina seems to be the first country in the world which charged its President for violating the Covid quarantine rules. Argentinian prosecutors charged President Alberto Fernandez with allegedly breaking a mandatory quarantine when he and his partner hosted a birthday party with friends last year.
Local media outlets Dailies Clarin and La Nacion reported the news, citing prosecutors.
The case against Fernandez has grabbed headlines in past weeks as Argentina imposed stricter lockdowns than most countries to deal with the pandemic.
In July of last year, Fernandez himself banned all social gatherings before hosting one for the birthday of Fabiola Yanez, his partner.
On Thursday, Fernandez participated in a hearing in the case and offered to pay a fine to settle the case.
Opposition lawmakers have tried to start a political probe into Fernandez because of the birthday party, although they have a slim chance of succeeding because most lawmakers are aligned with his ruling party.
Argentina has, so far, reported more than 111,000 deaths related to Covid infections. Total infections have increased to over 5.17 million with daily new Covid cases around 5,806 on Aug 27, 2021. Argentina reported about 30,000 daily cases in May, when the spike was at its peak and these days the new cases have dropped to below 6,000 amid tight Covid curbs.
