President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. The president tweeted the results of the positive tests early Friday morning.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!,” the president tweeted.
The New York Times reported that the president’s physician said they were both doing “well.” He didn’t say if Donald Trump or Melania were suffering from any coronavirus symptoms.
“The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” the physician, Sean P. Conley, said in the statement. “Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.”
It’s unclear how long the president and first lady will be in quarantine.
So far, 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-18. More than 7 million in the U.S. have been infected, Johns Hopkins University reports. In addition, the worldwide coronavirus death toll has topped 1 million.
Donald Trump is now the most prominent world leader to come down with Covid-19, CNBC reported. Previously, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had tested positive for coronavirus and survived.
Close Trump advisor first tested positive
Hope Hicks, one of President Trump’s close advisors, became infected recently and brought the virus into the inner circle, The Hill reported.
The president told Fox News host Sean Hannity on his show Thursday about Hicks’ positive test. He tweeted shortly after that he and the first lady had been in contact with Hicks and they would begin the quarantine process, Fox News said. He announced his positive test a few hours later.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!,” he tweeted.
Hicks was the most senior White House official to test positive with COVID-19 at the time, the Associated Press said. Though she is by far not the first.
The New York Times reports a list of people with access to the president who tested positive for coronavirus at some point. Those include Robert C. O’Brien, his national security adviser; Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend; a White House valet; Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary; as well as some Secret Service agents, campaign workers, and a Marine in the president’s helicopter unit. Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate, died of the coronavirus in July after attending the president’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla.
Donald Trump campaign cancels events
With only 33 days until the Nov. 3 election, it’s unclear what the positive test will mean for Trump’s campaign against former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump, 74, will need to remove himself from the campaign trail even if he is asymptomatic. Though how long he’ll remain at the White House will be determined by a number of variables.
The White House released an updated schedule early Friday morning in which all of his public events are canceled. That includes a rally planned for Florida. He had most recently appeared at a campaign rally in Duluth, Minn., on Wednesday, the USA Today said. Hicks had also attended that rally, it was reported.
Biden’s campaign had not released a statement about the test results early Friday.
