Russian President Putin has spent several days on holiday in Siberia where he was hiking and fishing, the Kremlin said on Sunday, following a brief spell in self-isolation as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

Putin said within the middle of September he would need to spend “a few days” in self-isolation after dozens of individuals in his entourage fell ill with

He had to cancel his trip to Tajikistan for a security summit.

Putin has cultivated a macho image, appealing to several Russians, and has previously been pictured riding a horse bare-chested and in sunglasses, also as carrying a hunting rifle and piloting a fighter jet.

The Kremlin published 20 photos of Putin standing during a river and catching a fish, walking through lush meadows and lecture Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, his usual holiday companion.

Putin, 68, has had two shots of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. The Kremlin has said he was feeling healthy.