All Equal Before Virus: World Politicians Wearing Face Masks

Presidents, ministers and members of parliament have been wearing protective face masks in public amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in order to demonstrate to their citizens how important it is to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the globe has exceeded 862,000, with more than 42,000 deaths. 178,836 people have recovered. There is almost not a single country in the world that has not been affected by this infection.

Take a look at some of the world leaders and politicians wearing face masks in Sputnik's photo gallery.

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Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova and Prime Minister Igor Matovic wearing protective face masks shake hands as they attend the cabinet's inauguration at Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia March 21, 2020.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin wears a protective suit during his visit to a hospital for COVID-19 patients in Moscow 24 March, 2020

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French President Emmanuel Macron wears a face mask during his visit to the military field hospital outside the Emile Muller Hospital in Mulhouse, eastern France March 25, 2020, during a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, wearing a protective face mask, talks to a medical staff member during his visit to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in Beijing, Monday, March 2, 2020.

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Lebanon's Interior Minister, Mohammad Fahmi wears a protective mask as he arrives for a news conference, after Lebanese Prime Minister, Hassan Diab asked the security forces on Saturday to enforce stricter measures to keep people indoors and prevent gatherings to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Beirut, Lebanon March 22, 2020.

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A soldier helps Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic to wear a face mask before he visits the tents which are built for patients who will have coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Dubrava hospital in Zagreb, Croatia, March 21, 2020.

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Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro wears a protective face mask as he speaks during a meeting at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 13, 2020.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wearing a protective mask used as a preventive measure against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), attends an emergency session of parliament in Kiev, Ukraine March 30, 2020.

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Ukraine's former president, leader of the European Solidarity party, Petro Poroshenko, wears a protective face mask as he arrives for an urgent session in parliament in Kiev

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A billboard shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, Israeli Former Defense Minister and leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) right-wing party Avigdor Lieberman, center, and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, wearing masks in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Sunday, March 29, 2020.

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South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun takes off his face mask to hold a press conference on South Korea's recent preventive measures against the new coronavirus at the Seoul Correspondent Club in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 27, 2020

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Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in protective masks visits a checkpoint, set up to lock down Nur-Sultan to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the outskirts of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan March 19, 2020.