Kazakhstan ex-president infected with coronavirus

The ex-president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokespeople have announced.

In a statement they confirmed “there are no reasons for concern" and the 79-year-old remains in isolation.

Nazarbayev, who had ruled Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991, stepped down last year but continues to wield considerable influence as chair of the country’s Security Council and leader of the ruling party Nur Otan.

Kazakhstan has reported 15,877 confirmed cases of the virus and 97 deaths among its population of 18 million.

The ex-Soviet nation lifted the state of emergency declared on March 16, but various lockdown restrictions remain in place in different regions of the vast country.