The diagnosis means the 34-year-old will miss Thursday's
World Cup qualifier between Chile and Argentina.
"The medical team of the Chilean national team
emphasises that at the request of the player Arturo Vidal, it is announced that
he has been diagnosed positive for Covid," the national team said on its
official website.
It said no other players in the squad had tested positive
for the virus.
Vidal was initially hospitalised with severe tonsilitis, but
tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, the team statement said.
The former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus star, who
was vaccinated against the virus on Friday, will now miss the Qatar 2022 World
Cup qualifier with Argentina and another qualifier against Bolivia next week in
Santiago.
Covid-19 infections in Chile remain above 6,000 daily cases
and the health system is overwhelmed.
The virus has killed more than 29,000 people out of a total
1.3 million cases in the country.