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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – US President Donald Trump announced early Friday (October 2) that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19, shortly after one of his closest aides, Mrs. Hope Hicks, got sick with the coronavirus. .
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get out of this TOGETHER! “Trump said on Twitter.
Trump’s announcement comes with just a month to go before the U.S. presidential election, a contest against Democrat Joe Biden that has largely focused on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, which Biden and others have criticized for being slow. and ineffective.
In a memo released early Friday morning, Trump’s doctor said the president and first lady plan to remain in the White House “during their convalescence” and that the medical unit “will maintain a vigilant watch.”
“Please be assured that I look forward to the president continuing to serve without interruption while he recovers, and I will keep you informed of any future developments,” said White House physician Scott Conley.
U.S. stock futures fell more than 1% early Friday after Trump said he tested positive.
Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said Trump and Ms. Trump’s contacts were being traced and “appropriate notifications and recommendations will be made.” The contact tracing for Ms. Hicks, he added, was now complete.
In a tweet, the First Lady said that she and her husband “feel good and I have postponed all upcoming commitments. Please make sure you are safe and we will all get through it together. “
The 74-year-old president’s positive result will likely heighten the already intense public attention over his ineffective handling of the pandemic as he campaigns for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden, who leads national polls.
It was not immediately clear how Trump contracted the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans. Hicks tested positive after flying Trump aboard Air Force One to the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday and a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.
“We spend a lot of time with Hope and others. So we’ll see what happens, ”Trump said during Fox’s interview with Sean Hannity.
Several other members of Trump’s circle tested positive for the virus earlier this year, including national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
His aides were concerned that Trump’s lack of sleep during the final stretch of the presidential campaign could leave him especially vulnerable to infection. The president did not return to the White House until after midnight after his trips on Tuesday and Wednesday. Your age also puts you at higher risk for serious illness from the virus.
The development, while a source of concern for Americans, will make it difficult for the president to continue trying to divert attention from the virus and focus on his cherished campaign issues, such as accusing Democrats of promoting a ruinous socialist agenda and allowing the American cities being overrun by violent protesters.
Trump has tried to downplay the virus amid polls showing most Americans disapprove of his handling of the pandemic, which he says would simply “go away.” He has lobbied for states to reopen their economies even as the number of cases increased.
The president, who initially downplayed the importance of wearing masks and later endorsed their use, has rarely covered his face in public and has also failed to follow recommendations to stay six feet (1.8m) away from others. The White House has said those precautions are not necessary for Trump because the people who are allowed to be near him are tested for the virus.
Trump has said he has no regrets about his response to the pandemic, arguing that he “played better in terms of action” even though he told journalist Bob Woodward in a recorded conversation that he downplayed the threat he posed to Avoid scaring the Americans. Again he cast doubt on whether the masks effectively prevent the transmission of the virus.
“A lot of people don’t want to wear masks. There are many people who think that masks are not good, “Trump said at a city hall event Sept. 15 with ABC News.
The president has also repeatedly staged events in which audience members did not wear masks or keep distance from each other.
He held his first indoor campaign rally in months on Sept. 13 at a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas, in violation of a Nevada order prohibiting indoor gatherings of 50 or more people.
“I’m on stage and it’s a long way off,” Trump said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, defending his decision to speak to thousands of followers, few of whom wore masks or practiced social distancing. He spoke at a similar indoor meeting in Arizona the next day.
Days later, Trump spoke in front of hundreds of people on the South Lawn of the White House at a signing ceremony for diplomatic agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel. Few of the attendees were tested for Covid-19.
Trump appeared on Aug. 27 before a crowd of about 1,500 on the South Lawn to accept the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. Although the Trump campaign said it followed “strict” security protocols, the District of Columbia bans gatherings of more than 50 people. Few people in the crowd wore masks and White House officials said that some, but not all, of the attendees were screened for Covid-19.
In late July, the president began publicly encouraging Americans to wear masks if they cannot maintain social distance and avoid risky behaviors, after months of questioning public health recommendations and promoting unproven treatments.
In May, for example, he said he took the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure, days after Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for the virus. The Food and Drug Administration revoked emergency approval for the drug as a Covid-19 treatment a month later, citing a lack of effectiveness and possible harmful side effects.
Trump joins other world leaders who have tested positive for the virus, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. All survived, although Johnson became seriously ill.
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