Health Notes

Eswatini prime minister Ambrose Dlamini dies of COVID-19 at age of 52

by Charlie Smith on December 14th, 2020 at 6:07 AM
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      The novel coronavirus has claimed the life of the top-ranking politician in a small African kingdom.

      The prime minister of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), Ambrose Dlamini, was 52 when he succumbed to COVID-19 in a South African hospital.

      It's the first official death of a world leader from the disease.

      Prior to becoming prime minister, Dlamini was a banking and telecommunications executive. He became prime minister in 2018.

      Dlamini tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-November.

      Many other politicians have tested positive

      In June, Burundi president-elect Pierre Nkurunziza died of what the government called a heart attack. But it's widely suspected that he, too, died of COVID-19.

      U.S. president Donald Trump, British prime minister Boris Johnson, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and Prince Albert II of Monaco have all survived COVID-19.

      Back in April, Dlamini wished Johnson a speedy recovery.

      Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, also recovered from COVID-19, as has Canada's leader of the Official Opposition, Erin O'Toole, and the third-party leader, Yves-François Blanchet of the Bloc Québécois.

       

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