United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19, the president tweeted on October 2.
“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 said in a tweet.
“As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together,” Melania Trump said in a tweet.
It was reported earlier today that Trump and the First Lady had been tested for COVID-19 and were in quarantine after Hope Hicks, one of the United States President’s top aides, tested positive for the disease.
Hicks, a top adviser to Trump, tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing symptoms. Hicks was known to regularly travel with the president on Air Force One and, along with other senior aides, had accompanied him to Ohio for the US presidential debate. Hicks returned to the White House earlier this year after a stint in the private sector. She had previously served as Trump’s communications director and as a spokeswoman for his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at greater risk of serious complications arising out of the infection.
The president has come under sharp criticism over his response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has led to more than two lakh deaths in the United States alone. Trump has touted his management of the crisis.
He is not the first major world leader known to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had spent a week in the hospital, including in intensive care. Additionally, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had worked from home after his wife fell ill. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for COVID-19.
