UPDATE: Trump has been moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a “precautionary measure.”
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Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for the coronavirus, less than 24 hours after his top aide Hope Hicks tested positive. In a tweet, he says they are quarantined and will get through it together:
Trump is 74 years old and at a higher risk of complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide. The president’s physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, “are both well at this time” and “plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.”
Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative, according to a statement from Vice President Press Secretary Devin O’Malley:
Pence himself , along with his wife Karen, says they are joining “millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery:”
Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden wishes a “swift recovery” for the president and his family.
Active contact tracing is underway for the president, who had a busy schedule during the week he tested positive. A timeline for his events this week includes a Rose Garden event on Monday, the first presidential debate on Tuesday in Cleveland, and a Minnesota fundraiser on Wednesday, which is when top presidential aide Hope Hicks begins to feel unwell. She tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday. On Friday, Trump had been scheduled to attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Sanford, Florida. The White House has now released a revised schedule with only a single phone call on “COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors” listed for the president on Friday.
Trump is the latest in a growing list of world leaders who have contracted COVID-19. A list on AP News of major world leaders who have tested positive includes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
