President Trump and Melania Test Positive for Covid-19
United States President Donald Trump announced that he and the First Lady, Melania Trump, tested positive for the corona virus.
President Trump tweeted at 12:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Friday (2/10): “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I have been confirmed positive for COVID-19. We immediately started the quarantine and recovery process. We're going through this TOGETHER, ”Trump tweeted.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
Eleven minutes later, the White House released a memo from the presidential doctor, Dr. Sean Conley, who confirmed the positive test results for the Trump partner.
"The President and First Lady are doing well right now, and they plan to stay at home within the White House during their recovery period," Conley said.
The 74-year-old doctor added that he expects Trump "to be able to carry out his duties undisturbed while he is recovering, and I will continue to provide information on further developments."
Melania Trump tweeted at 1:27 a.m. local time: “As many Americans have done this year, @potus & I will go into self-quarantine at home after testing positive for Covid-19. We're feeling good & I've postponed some of the upcoming events. Please make sure you're safe & we'll go through this together. "
According to a White House official, all Trump political events in the near future were ordered to be canceled immediately.
The news suddenly resulted in the stock market plummeting and the potential to stall Trump's campaign. It came less than a month before the presidential election against former vice president Joe Biden, who has led national polls so far.
Trump confirmed to Fox News Channel in a telephone interview on Thursday that he and the First Lady had undergone tests after one of his close aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the infection. Trump has for months downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak.
Hicks, an adviser to the President, accompanies Trump to Pennsylvania for a campaign on Saturday. The entourage then flew to Cleveland to debate presidential candidates on Tuesday (29/9) and to Minnesota for a number of campaign activities the following day.
As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020
According to officials, Hicks began showing symptoms at a political campaign event on Wednesday evening (30/9) in Duluth, Minnesota and tested positive on Thursday (1/10) morning. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, Trump on Thursday (1/10) and several high-ranking officials flew to New Jersey for a political fundraising event. During the event, he was in close contact with dozens of other people.
In a telephone interview with Sean Hannity, Fox News host, President Trump suspected Hicks may have caught the virus from some members of the military or law enforcement.
"It's really, really hard when you're with people from the military, or from law enforcement and they come up to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you because we did a good job for them," Trump said.
“You are close together and things happen. I was shocked to hear what happened to Hope, but he's a very warm person to them. He knows the risks, but he's young. "
