U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus, the President announced early Friday morning, an extraordinary development coming months into a global pandemic and in the final stretch of his reelection campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!\u201d Trump tweeted shortly before 1 am Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a memo issued to reporters around 1 a.m. ET, the President\u2019s physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, wrote he received confirmation of the positive tests on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,\u201d Conley wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country\u2019s greatest medical professionals and institutions,\u201d Conley wrote, without elaborating what assistance was being provided to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRest 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,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President had said late Thursday night that he planned to quarantine after one of his closest aides tested positive for the infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!\u201d Trump tweeted Thursday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hicks has traveled with the President multiple times recently, including to the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, and was seen boarding Marine One, along with several other of the President\u2019s closest aides — Jared Kushner, Dan Scavino and Nicholas Luna — none of whom wore masks, on Wednesday as Trump was heading to a campaign rally in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe did test positive, I just heard about this. She tested positive. She\u2019s a hard worker. Lot of masks, she wears masks a lot but she tested positive. Then I just went out with a test. I\u2019ll see — you know, because we spent a lot of time — and the first lady just went out with a test also. So whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Trump said during a call-in appearance on Fox News\u2019 \u201cHannity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, \u201cI just went for a test and we\u2019ll see what happens, I mean, who knows. … I spent a lot of time with Hope and so does the first lady, and she\u2019s tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s unclear what the President\u2019s \u201cquarantine process\u201d will look like, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines state that a 14-day quarantine should take place after the last known exposure to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. This is because the incubation period for the novel coronavirus can be up to two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News of Hicks\u2019 positive test comes amid continued efforts by the Trump administration to blatantly disregard science and best public health practices during the pandemic, with West Wing staff actively eschewing masks and the President defying recommendations from his own coronavirus task force, proceeding with a busy schedule of packed campaign ralies. Trump and his key aides have shown little interest in changing practices of his staff to meet the needs of the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, in his Fox News interview, speculated that Hicks could have contracted the virus from an interaction with a supporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a very warm person. She has a hard time, when soldiers and law enforcement comes up to her, you know, she wants to treat them great, not say, \u2018Stay away, I can\u2019t get near you.\u2019 It\u2019s a very, very tough disease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A source close to Hicks told CNN that she is experiencing symptoms and is back in Washington. A source familiar with Hicks\u2019 symptoms describes her as being achy and feeling pretty bad. CNN has reached out to Hicks for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously,\u201d White House spokesman Judd Deere told CNN in a statement when asked about the level of contact between Hicks and Trump.
The White House made no mention of Hicks by name, nor did it confirm she had tested positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhite House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling,\u201d Deere added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some White House staffers who were in close proximity were notified of the positive test result today, one official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This development was first reported by Bloomberg News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long seen as a stabilizing force on a boss who likes chaos, Hicks joined the Trump Organization working in public relations with Ivanka Trump and moved to Trump\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign early in the race. She was one of the few aides to follow him from his political beginnings to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hicks maintained a close relationship not just with the President but also with members of his family, including White House advisers Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. She previously served as the White House communications director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hicks\u2019 positive test underscores the unique challenge White House staffers face as they try to keep the pandemic out of the West Wing while the President pushes to reopen the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May, two White House staffers, including a member of the Navy who serves as one of Trump\u2019s personal valets, tested positive for the virus, and in July a cafeteria employee on the White House grounds tested positive as well. The President confirmed a fourth positive case on White House grounds last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has previously expressed concern that aides contracting coronavirus would undercut his message that the outbreak is waning and states should accelerate reopening, according to a person who had spoken with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has since gone to great lengths to shield Trump and Vice President Mike Pence from the outbreak, even as they travel to states where cases are surging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany previously described Trump as the \u201cmost tested man in America,\u201d who doesn\u2019t risk spreading the virus to others. But Trump contradicted that claim hours later, saying he doesn\u2019t know of a time he\u2019s taken more than one coronavirus test in a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about more than one,\u201d Trump responded to a reporter who asked why he was tested more than once a day. \u201cI do probably on average a test every two days, three days, and I don\u2019t know of any time I\u2019ve taken two in one day, but I could see that happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: CNN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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