Source: Washington Post, CNN: President Trump announced in a tweet early Friday morning that he and his wife Melania have both tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, “We will get through this TOGETHER!” he wrote.
The news came just hours after it was reported that Hope Hicks, a close adviser to Trump who traveled with him aboard Air Force One several times this week, had tested positive, bringing the virus into his inner circle.
Trump’s doctor Sean P. Conley, confirmed that the president and first lady would “remain at home within the White House during their convalescence”. How long this convalescence lasts will depend on how ill the pair get’.
“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, without elaborating what assistance was being provided to the White House. “Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any further developments,” he wrote.
Washington post reported that even if Trump tests negative within the next 14 days, he will almost certainly be unable to attend rallies in three key states – Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona – as well as the next presidential debate, which is scheduled for 15 October.
Mr. Trump’s positive test result could pose immediate difficulties for the future of his campaign against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic challenger, with just 33 days before the election on November 3, 2020.
Even if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time. If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all.
The diagnosis amounts to the most serious known health threat to a sitting American president in decades. At 74 years old and obese, Trump falls into the highest risk category for serious complications from the disease, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and more than 1 million people worldwide.
His infection with the disease could prove destabilizing in an already fraught political climate, and stock market futures tumbled on news of Trump’s infection.
Trump was last seen in public on Thursday afternoon, returning to the White House after a fundraising trip to New Jersey. He did not appear ill, though he did not speak to reporters as he walked into his residence.
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