Gustavo Petro does not have covid-19, this Friday will resume his campaign agenda

On Thursday, March 31, Gustavo Petro did not arrive at two important events that were part of his agenda in the middle of the presidential campaign, this because the candidate woke up with general malaise and symptoms that generated a suspicion of covid-19. The politician was isolated for several hours, while they did the respective test and, in the last few hours, his team confirmed that he is not infected with coronavirus, so he will resume his activities this Friday.

According to media such as the newspaper El Tiempo and La FM, the spokespersons for the Petro campaign announced that the candidate of the Historical Pact underwent a medical check-up and a test for covid-19; however, the disease was ruled out and it was concluded that Gustavo Petro is recovering from a severe influenza condition.

“Candidate Gustavo Petro was indisposed and is still at rest. Tomorrow (Friday) he hopes to resume his tour for the first round and starts with what has been called 'The 4 cardinal points'”, the spokesmen confirmed to the newspaper and the station. This tour starts on April 1 in Nazareth, Guajira, and will then continue in Puerto Carreño, Leticia and Tumaco.

One of the events that the candidate planned to attend was the one in which he would receive support for his presidential candidacy by the Citizen Force movement. Although his campaign event was not canceled, Armando Benedetti, who has been Petro's right-hand man in this political race, appeared on the premises and said that the former mayor of Bogotá “was planning to come, was on the agenda as a very important issue, but he is indisposed and is undergoing some examinations.”

When asked if Gustavo Petro had covid-19, Benedetti said that “I couldn't tell you much, but for you to tell me that he has covid, as they said, I could tell you that he doesn't have covid, until this hour”.

Francia Márquez, the vice-presidential formula, arrived to the place to represent the candidacy of the Historical Pact. Márquez arrived at the Hotel Tequendama, in Bogotá, at four in the afternoon - despite the fact that the event started at 10:00 in the morning - because he had to take a flight from Cali, and he assured that Petro was subjected to a covid-19 test and that they had to wait for the results so that he could return to public events. He also said that she has not had close contact with him in recent days, so she does not suspect a contagion.

The other event that Gustavo Petro was unable to attend was the presidential debate organized by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, which was attended by dozens of students who lined up in the auditorium to listen specifically to this candidate. At the event they were informed that Petro would not arrive and began to leave the compound alleging other occupations.

And it wasn't just the students who abandoned the debate because of Petro's absence, the candidate of the Team for Colombia, Federico Gutiérrez, canceled his participation on the grounds that he would not attend a debate in which Petro was not present. In this way, 'Fico' also disappointed the students who did stay in place to listen to his proposals.

Ingrid Betancourt, candidate for the Oxygen Green Party, came to the Jesuit University and was planning to retire, as she recalled the words of candidate John Milton Rodríguez in the Externado University debate: “Please, let's not accept debates where they don't include all of us; let's be supportive and let us all express ourselves.”

However, Betancourt remained at the willingness of Sergio Fajardo, candidate of the Esperanza Center Coalition, to stay and answer questions from students, who due to their age and inexperience are potential center voters. Ingrid and Fajardo debated for a couple of hours before those who decided to stay and listen to them.

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