Trump, Melania test positive for COVID-19, go into quarantine

US President Donald Trump and wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19, Trump announced on Twitter on Thursday night (October 1).

“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 tweeted.

The announcement came soon after the US President tweeted that both he and Melania have taken COVID tests and are awaiting results after his close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus.

The development is likely to bring to standstill his hectic election campaign. The president and the first lady were also tested for COVID-19 and the result is awaited.

“Hope 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!” Trump tweeted.

Hicks, 31, is the closest aid of the president to have tested positive with coronavirus. She had travelled with the president on Air Force One early this week. Trump, in an interview to Fox News, on Thursday night said he and the first lady spend a lot of time with her. The president said he and the First Lady were tested for COVID-19 and are now awaiting the results. In the middle of the election campaign, Trump has been travelling a lot in particular in the battleground States.

“I just went out with a test and the first lady just went out with a test also. So, whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don’t know,” he said.

In a statement, Judd Deere, the Deputy White House Press Secretary said that the President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

“White 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 travelling,” Deere said.

Several White House staffers have tested positive with COVID-19 in recent months, including the National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.