Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is doing well and working from the presidential palace, one day after announcing he was infected with the novel coronavirus, his interior minister said Monday.

"We can say with all sincerity and frankness that the president is well and strong, coordinating matters," said Olga Sanchez, who is standing in for Lopez Obrador at his daily news conference this week.

She said his symptoms were mild and that he was expected to make "a quick and satisfactory recovery" from the disease.

"He is in full exercise of his functions as president of the republic," she added.

The 67-year-old Mexican leader announced Sunday that he was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 but said he was optimistic.

"We will come through this together," he said.

Lopez Obrador took part in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and seemed "very well, with a resolute spirit," Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has continued his travels to different parts of the country and visited the northern state of San Luis Potosi at the weekend
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has continued his travels to different parts of the country and visited the northern state of San Luis Potosi at the weekend Mexican Presidency / Handout

Ebrard said that he and other cabinet ministers were now awaiting the results of coronavirus tests.

Lopez Obrador is rarely seen wearing a mask in public, including at his daily news conferences and when meeting his ministers, and has kept up most of his activities during the pandemic.

The left-wing populist suffered a heart attack in 2013 and underwent angioplasty. He also suffers from hypertension -- a risk factor for Covid-19.

He joins other world leaders, including former US president Donald Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who have been infected with the virus.

Mexico has officially registered more than 1.75 million coronavirus cases and nearly 150,000 deaths -- the world's fourth-highest death toll after the United States, Brazil and India.

Mexico City has been in a state of maximum alert since mid-December, with more than 90 percent of hospital beds full due to soaring infections. Non-essential activities have been suspended in the capital.

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