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Donald Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms” of Covid-19 after revealing that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus.
The president of the United States, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were in quarantine.
The White House doctor said the president is expected to continue to carry out his duties “without interruption” while he recovers. A White House official said Trump was experiencing mild symptoms but was working from the White House residence.
His diagnosis is sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus has spread through the highest levels of the United States government.
Hours before Trump announced that he had contracted the virus, the White House said a senior adviser who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.
“Tonight, FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, ”Trump tweeted. “We will get out of this TOGETHER!”
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and “remains in good health,” his spokesman said.
Many senior White House and administration officials are undergoing testing, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time, as it may take days for an infection to be detectable by a proof.
Higher risk
Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House Thursday night and did not appear visibly ill. He is 74 years old and overweight, putting him at higher risk for serious complications from a virus that has infected more than seven million people across the country.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through it TOGETHER!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
The president’s doctor said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, “are doing well right now” and “plan to stay home inside the White House during their convalescence.”
The diagnosis is a devastating blow to a president who has been desperately trying to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is over.
In the best of cases, if he does not show symptoms, it is likely that he will force him to leave the campaign weeks before the elections and question his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for October 15.
His handling of the pandemic has already been a major flash point in his career against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off campaign and at his home in Delaware due to the virus.
Since then, Biden has resumed a more active campaign program, but with small and socially distant crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for in Tuesday night’s debate.
“I don’t wear masks like him,” the president said. “Every time you see him, he has a mask. He could be talking 200 feet from me and he appears wearing the largest mask I have ever seen. “
In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said that he and his wife “send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a speedy recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family. “
Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her husband tweeted similar sentiments.
It was not immediately clear if the former vice president had been vetted since he appeared in the debate with Trump or if he was taking additional security protocols. The two men did not shake hands during the debate, instead running out of masks about 10 feet apart during the 90-minute event.
On Friday, Trump had been scheduled to receive an intelligence briefing, attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Florida, but the White House released a revised calendar with only one event: a phone call about “Covid- 19 support for vulnerable older people ”.
Trump’s announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his longest-serving and most trusted aides, had been diagnosed with the virus on Thursday.
Minnesota
She began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday night, according to an administration official, and was isolated from other passengers on board the plane.
Ms. Hicks had been with Trump and other senior personnel aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesday’s presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. The Trump contingent removed their masks during the debate, in violation of the rules of the place.
Several White House staff members have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert O’Brien and one of the president’s personal aides.
But Trump has always downplayed concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and their allies were exposed.
Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, he has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines, including those issued by his own administration, such as covering his face in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he continued to hold campaign rallies that drew thousands of supporters, often without a mask.
“I didn’t feel any vulnerability,” he told reporters in May. – PA
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