FORMER US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has tested positive for Covid-19.

Obama tweeted this evening that his symptoms are mild, stating:

“I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise,” Obama tweeted, adding that his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, has so far tested negative.

“Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted.”

Obama reiterated his support for the vaccine in his tweet today, saying his own positive test was “a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.”

I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative.

It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 13, 2022

US daily case counts have fallen off sharply, according to the Centre for Disease Control in the US, with an average of around 35,000 cases per day in mid-March compared to a peak of an average of 810,000 cases per day in mid-January.

Speaking in London this weekend, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the surge in Covid-19 cases in Ireland in recent days is evidence that more people need to get booster jabs to protect the wider community.

“I would appeal to people who are now due vaccination to get vaccinated. Get your booster. There are a lot of people who have gotten Covid did not get boosted.

“It’s absolutely essential that people get the booster because even the evidence of those in hospital, those in difficulty are those who didn’t get vaccinated.

“The problem in our hospitals is, of course, that once a person is diagnosed as having Covid, that leads to a whole range of isolation interventions by the hospital and reduces capacity. That is the impact on the hospital service, which is problematic,” he said.