Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus, his office said in a statement today.
“Unfortunately, the last test of Elbasy for coronavirus infection showed a positive result,” the statement read, referring to Nazarbayev by his formal title, Leader of the Nation. “There is no cause for concern.”
The statement added that Nazarbayev is working remotely.
Nazarbayev has dominated politics in the Central Asian republic for three decades. The Kazakh leader stepped down as president in 2019 but retains the chairmanship of the country’s Security Council and wields substantial power behind the scenes.
