Coronavirus: Brazilian aide tests positive for the illness days after posing with Donald Trump

A Brazilian aide has tested positive for the coronavirus just days after standing shoulder-to-shoulder with US President Donald Trump.

A Brazilian government official who met with Donald Trump at his resort in Florida and posted a photo of himself standing next to the US president has tested positive for coronavirus days later.

Communications Secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who was confirmed on Thursday to have contracted COVID-19, was among a delegation of Brazilian government officials who dined with Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday.

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Mr Wajngarten reportedly came down with flu-like symptoms after returning to Brazil and was taken to a military hospital to be tested for the virus.

According to Brazilian media outlets, several senior officials who were in the delegation with Mr Wajngarten - including Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro - are being monitored for symptoms.

The Brazilian president’s office “has taken and is taking all necessary preventive measures to protect the health of the president and all staff that traveled with him to the United States,” it said in a statement.

“This is because one of the officials in the group, Presidential Communications Secretary Fabio Wajngarten, is infected with the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as confirmed by a second test that was recently carried out.”

It’s not clear if the US President is also undergoing testing for the virus that has become a global pandemic.

Mr Trump said he was “not concerned” about his direct encounter with Mr Wajngarten.

“I did hear something about that,” he said.

“We had dinner together in Florida, in Mar-a-Lago, with the entire delegation.

“I don’t know if the press aide was there. If he was there, he was there. But we did nothing very unusual.

“Let me put it this way, I’m not concerned.”

US President Donald Trump (centre) speaks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (left) during a diner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7, 2020. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

US President Donald Trump (right) speaks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7, 2020. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's press secretary tested positive for coronavirus days after taking part in meetings with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

Mr Wajngarten joined Mr Bolsonaro - who has been dubbed a “Tropical Trump” - on a three-day trip to the US and on Saturday was at the Mar-a-Lago resort, where he posted a photo of himself wearing a “Make Brazil Great Again” cap while posing beside Mr Trump, who was holding a similar hat. A video from the event also showed him standing directly behind both presidents as they addressed a crowd.

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Enjoyable and productive dinner with ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ and the President of Brazil ⁦@jairbolsonaro⁩ 🇺🇸🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/rHhVcyzS1J

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 8, 2020

🇧🇷🤝🇺🇸 President @JairBolsonaro will arrive in the U.S. tomorrow for a visit to the state of Florida, where he'll meet with President @realDonaldTrump. Brazil is the leading foreign investor in Florida.

(📸Photo: Presidents of Brazil & U.S. meet on March 2019 at the White House) pic.twitter.com/2rsmu3m3eX

— Embassy of Brazil in the USA 🇧🇷 (@BrazilinUSA) March 6, 2020

Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both presidential aides were also at the dinner on Saturday. The following day Mr Bolsonaro and his delegation visited the headquarters of the US military’s Southern Command in Doral, also in the sunshine state, where the Brazilian president met with the commander, Admiral Craig Faller, the New York Times reports.

Mr Wajngarten initially denied a report on Wednesday that he had been tested for the virus, saying on his social media account that his health was fine. He is now in self-quarantine at home, according to the Brazilian government.

[e-mail] | @Megan_Palin