Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, as a new surge in infections gave Russia the third highest number of reported cases in the world after the US.

Peskov, the fifth senior official to contract the virus, said he had last met Putin in person more than a month ago, the Tass news agency reported.

Putin, who has been working remotely from his residence outside Moscow and holding many meetings via video conference, held a face-to-face meeting earlier on Tuesday with Igor Sechin, the head of oil giant Rosneft.

The Kremlin says Putin’s health is rigorously protected.

On Monday, Putin said it was time after six weeks to gradually lift nationwide restrictions that had forced many people to work from home.

His statement, made on the same day that Russia overtook Italy in the number of coronavirus cases reported, drew criticism from some anti-Kremlin politicians. On Tuesday, the number of Russian cases surpassed the reported tally in Britain.