Donald And Melania Trump Test Positive For Coronavirus

Published 7:44, 02 October 2020 BST
| Last updated 9:18, 02 October 2020 BST

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump, who is 74 and therefore in the high-risk category, confirmed the news in a tweet reading, ‘Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!’

The president announced he was going into quarantine after his 31-year-old adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for coronavirus.

Hicks had travelled with the president to the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in Ohio on Tuesday, September 29. Several of Trump’s family who also attended were seen not wearing masks.

Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, released a statement that said the POTUS and FLOTUS ‘are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence’.

‘The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions,’ Conley wrote. ‘Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.’

Trump has previously mocked those who decide to wear masks, and downplayed the severity of COVID-19. Only last week, he said Americans didn’t need to worry about the virus because ‘it affects virtually nobody’ except the elderly and those with heart conditions.

He only wore a mask for the first time in July, and abandoned the use of a mask just hours after saying wearing one was ‘patriotic’.

He was recently found to be the single largest driver of misinformation during the pandemic in a study conducted by Cornell University, having previously implied that people should inject themselves with disinfectant, as well as many other dangerous falsehoods.

The US has been the hardest-hit country by COVID-19, with it having been responsible for more than 212,000 deaths.

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Topics: News, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Now