Guwahati: United States President Donald Trump on Friday said he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump wrote in a tweet.
The President's physician said on Friday that Trump is doing "well" and will continue to perform his while quarantining with his wife.
"They are both well at this time and they plan to remain home at the White House during their convalescence," Trump's doctor, Sean Conley, said in a statement, adding, "I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."
Trump Thursday said he would go into quarantine after Hope Hicks, one of the president's closest confidantes, tested positive for COVID-19. These developments threaten to disrupt Trump's scheduled public appearances in the crucial final weeks of the election campaign. Trump is predicted to lose to his Democrat rival, Joe Biden, by a considerable margin.
Hicks was traveling with Trump on Air Force One Tuesday to fly to Cleveland for the first presidential debate with his rival Joe Biden. The aide was also with Trump on the Marine One helicopter Wednesday when he flew back to the White House after a rally in Minnesota.
United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people stay home and isolate for up to 14 days if they might have been exposed to the virus.
The United States, with 7,494,671 coronavirus cases, remains the worst-hit country in the entire world. At least 212,660 people in the country have died due to the disease due to which Trump, the president, has received severe flak. He has also been accused of "downplaying" the coronavirus threat. The president said in an interview earlier this year he minimized the virus's severity to avoid panic.