Syrian President and wife test positive for COVID-19

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for COVID-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday.

The pair are in good health and would keep working in isolation at home, the statement said.

Syria has seen a sharp rise in infections since mid-February. Health and aid officials say it remains difficult to gauge the full size of the outbreak given the lack of testing facilities in a fragile health system devastated by a decade of war.

Assad joins a growing list of world leaders who have tested positive for COVID-19, alongside Britain's Boris Johnson, France's Emmanuel Macron and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Health workers said the authorities underplayed the size of the outbreak for most of last year, when official figures remained low as hospitals were overwhelmed and death notices appeared in newspapers.

The government denied undercounting the figures and has acknowledged in the last two months the country could be on the verge of a major spike.

It has urged people to wear face masks, take sanitary measures and avoid crowded areas.