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US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend the July 4 ‘Salute to America’ event in Washington, DC, USA on July 4, 2020. Trump went ahead with his planned celebration of July 4, even as many officials urged the public to stay home and avoid gathering in large crowds due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. EPA-EFE / SAMUEL CORUM
President Donald Trump, who downplayed the threat of the coronavirus pandemic for months, said on Friday that he and his wife Melania had tested positive for Covid-19 and were going into quarantine, turning the race for the House upside down. White
“We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get out of this TOGETHER! “the president said in a tweet on Friday morning.
Trump, 74, is at high risk of contracting the deadly virus both because of his age and because he is considered overweight. He has been in good health during his tenure, but is not known to exercise regularly or eat a healthy diet.
Trump played down the severity of the pandemic in its early stages and has repeatedly predicted that it will go away. He rarely wears a mask and criticizes people, including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who does.
More than 200,000 people have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, in the United States alone, and the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions have been especially affected.
Trump, a Republican, urged US states to reopen closed economies even as the number of cases continued to rise, and hit Democratic governors for implementing tough measures to control the virus.
Trump’s positive test means that others at the highest levels of the United States government may have been exposed and should also be quarantined.
A White House official said contacts were being traced.
Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, said he expected the president to fulfill his duties “without interruption” while he recovers.
“The president and the first lady are doing well at the moment and plan to stay at home inside the White House during their convalescence,” Conley wrote in a memo that was distributed to the press.
Biden has harshly criticized Trump for his response to the pandemic, while the president has praised himself and his team.
Trump has held indoor and outdoor rallies with thousands of people in recent weeks in the run-up to the Nov.3 election, despite warnings from public health professionals against holding events with large crowds.
On Thursday night, shortly after the president said the end of the pandemic was in sight, it emerged that Hope Hicks, a senior adviser and trusted assistant, had tested positive for the virus. Hicks traveled with the president on Air Force One on Tuesday and Wednesday.
CAREER CHANGE
The development dramatically alters the presidential race.
The White House issued a new schedule for Trump’s activities on Friday that did not include a planned trip to Florida. Biden is scheduled to campaign in Michigan on Friday. Both states are swing states that could help decide the American election.
The president’s condition is likely to bring the pandemic back to center stage in the race, following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Trump’s subsequent nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to take his place, events that had changed the emphasis of the campaign.
Trump, who has been criticized for questioning the efficacy of wearing a face covering, pulled a mask out of his pocket in the first presidential debate on Tuesday and said: “I wear masks when I need them. When necessary, I wear masks. “
He then ridiculed Biden for wearing one regularly: “I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he has a mask. He could be talking 200 feet away from them and he appears with the largest mask I have ever seen. “
Health professionals say that covering your face is key to preventing the spread of the virus.
Trump has held regular rallies across the country to build excitement for his candidacy against the former vice president, who has avoided campaign events with large numbers of people. Trump prides himself on his big campaign rallies, with crowds of people not wearing masks or maintaining social distance.
You may be bothered by having to stay home with only a few weeks left before the election.
S&P 500 futures fell 1.8% in Asian trading after the news of Trump’s positive test, which amplified previous losses, while barometers of risk sentiment such as the Australian dollar and yields of Treasury bonds, fell.
“Trump has been behind Biden and clearly failed to narrow the gap after the first debate … I suspect markets will lean towards the view that Biden will likely win the election,” said Naoya Oshikubo, senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust. Asset Management. . “What worries me is that he will become even more aggressive against China after contracting the virus himself.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued to work in isolation for just over a week after testing positive in late March, but then fell seriously ill and was rushed to intensive care. He spent several weeks recovering before returning to work.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went into quarantine in March after his wife was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called it a “little flu” after becoming infected in July. DM
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano and Aishwarya Nair; Editing by William Mallard, Michael Perry and Peter Graff)
