Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald tests positive for coronavirus
- Mary Lou McDonald was tested on March 28 and got positive result yesterday
- She said she had ‘weeks of being very unwell’ and had complications in her lung
- But she said she is ‘no longer infected or infectious’ and will return to work soon
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Ireland’s Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has tested positive for coronavirus.
The leader of the left-wing Irish nationalist party was given a test on March 28 and got the positive result yesterday after ‘weeks of being very unwell’.
Last month, Ms McDonald revealed that a pupil in her own children’s school contracted the deadly virus that has killed more than 360 people and infected 10,000 in Ireland alone.
Ireland’s Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald (pictured) has tested positive for coronavirus
In a statement, Ms McDonald said: ‘Yesterday afternoon, I received a positive diagnosis for Covid-19 having been tested on Saturday, 28th March.
‘The Public Health Doctor informs me that I am no longer infected or infectious, and this is a great relief after weeks of being very unwell.
‘I had a setback in my recovery at the weekend and developed post-viral pleurisy in my right lung.
‘I am on medication and responding very well, and I fully expect to be back at work next Monday,’ she added.
The leader of the left-wing Irish nationalist party (centre) was given a test on March 28 and got the positive result yesterday after ‘weeks of being very unwell’
McDonald’s party stunned Ireland’s establishment in February by winning the most votes in an inconclusive national election.
The two centrist parties that have alternated in power throughout Ireland’s history both refuse to work with Sinn Fein and are working on a plan for a coalition to govern together.
Sinn Fein operates in both British-ruled Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, where its influence was limited for decades by its history of alliance to IRA militants.
Caretaker Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael and its historic rivals Fianna Fail refuse to govern with Sinn Fein, and are trying to put together a deal to govern together for the first time, with the support of independent lawmakers or a small party.