Kazakhstan's first President tests positive

Nur Sultan : Kazakhstan's first President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has tested positive for COVID-19 and has gone into self-isolation, his office announced on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, the latest coronavirus test carried out on 'Elbasi' (leader of the nation) returned a positive result. There is no reason for concern. Nursultan Nazarbayev continues to work remotely," the office said in a communique.

Nazarbayev, the country's first president, resigned in March 2019 after 30 years at the helm of the Central Asian nation, which is currently headed by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, but maintains a prominent presence in Kazakh political life as the current leader of the Security Council and president of the Nur Otan ruling party.

To date, Kazakhstan has recorded 15,877 active cases of COVID-19 and 100 deaths from the disease.