WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for the coronavirus and will quarantine, he wrote on Twitter early on Friday. “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump wrote. The White House physician said Trump and Melania are “both well at this time” but he did not say if they are showing symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Trump had said several hours earlier that he would begin to quarantine, after his senior adviser Hope Hicks was confirmed to have contracted the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Trump did not say how long he and the first lady would quarantine for.
The result comes five weeks before the US’ November 3 election. Trump’s handling of the pandemic has been repeatedly criticised by Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Late on Thursday, the president confirmed during a Fox News interview that Hicks had tested positive.
“She did test positive, I just heard about this,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News. Trump and Melania have spent a lot of time with Hicks, Trump said.
Hicks is among Trump’s closest advisers and often travels with him. After the interview Trump tweeted that he would begin to quarantine.
Trump is often seen in public without a mask, which the White House has justified by saying the president and those he has close contact with are regularly tested for the virus.
The White House in a statement said steps are taken to limit COVID-19 exposure to the president and that all plans and procedures incorporate guidance from the CDC. — DPA
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