We have Covid-19! Donald and Melania Trump in quarantine
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive to COVID-19 after the president’s close aide was infected.
Donald Trump and wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19, setting up an unprecedented situation that will up-end the final month of the US election campaign.
The President’s announcement on Friday in a tweet came hours after close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately,” Mr Trump tweeted. “We will get through this TOGETHER!”
White House physician Sean Conley said in a memo that the 74-year-old President and the 50-year-old first lady were both “well at this time” and planned to remain at the White House while they recovered. He said the medical team would “maintain a vigilant watch”.
If Mr Trump’s condition were to worsen, he could temporarily transfer power to Vice-President Mike Pence under the 25th Amendment. That has only happened three times in US history, when former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush underwent colonoscopies.
Contracting the virus that has infected more than 7.3 million people in the US means Mr Trump will need to cancel in-person events in the coming weeks, possibly including the next debate against Democrat rival Joe Biden, in Miami, on October 15.
Shortly after Mr Trump said he had tested positive, the White House issued an updated schedule for Friday (Saturday AEST), which consisted only of “a phone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors”.
He had previously been scheduled to attend an indoor fundraiser at his hotel in Washington and a campaign rally in Florida.
Dr Conley said he expected the President to “continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering”. On Friday, Mrs Trump tweeted that she and her husband were “feeling good” and that she had postponed “all upcoming engagements”.
“We will all get through this together,” she said.
Mr Pence wished the couple well. On Twitter, he wrote: “Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump.
“We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.”
Scott Morrison sent a private message to Mr Trump wishing him a “speedy and full recovery”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who caught COVID-19 in April and spent three nights in intensive care on a ventilator, also wished the Trumps a “speedy recovery”.
Hours earlier, Mr Trump tweeted that he and his wife were quarantining while awaiting their test results, after Ms Hicks tested positive.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible,” Mr Trump tweeted.
Ms Hicks travelled with Mr Trump on Air Force One to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday (AEDT) and also on the Marine One helicopter on the return trip from a rally in Minnesota on Thursday. She tested positive the following day.
She also travelled with a range of the President’s senior advisers including daughter Ivanka, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and campaign manager Bill Stepien.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ms Hicks wasn’t tested on Wednesday night.
A person familiar with the matter said Ms Hicks began showing minor symptoms and then went into quarantine during the return flight from Minnesota on Wednesday as a matter of caution.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, travelled to Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday for a fundraiser and roundtable meeting with supporters.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether those he met would need to go into quarantine. A 14-day absence from the campaign with just a month until the election could be a disaster for Mr Trump who trails Mr Biden by 7.2 percentage points.
Mr Trump’s inner circle has already been hard hit by the virus, with Mr O’Brien; Mr Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller; and the girlfriend of the President’s son, Donald Trump Jr, Kimberley Guilfoyle, also testing positive.
At just 31, Ms Hicks is a favourite of the President, having served as press secretary during the 2016 campaign and as communications director until 2018 before leaving the administration and then returning to the White House as a counsellor for him earlier this year. Mr Trump said he was surprised to hear of Ms Hicks’ testing positive.
He said she may have caught it from overzealous military or police officers.
Mr Trump and his team have been regularly tested but have mostly declined to wear face masks as recommended by health officials.
Mr Trump holds large rallies where most of his supporters also do not wear masks. By contrast, the Biden campaign is far more cautious, with almost all participants wearing masks and few members of the public allowed to attend.
However, this means there are fewer crowds at his events compared to Mr Trump’s, giving the appearance of the President having a larger and more passionate following.
As recently as Tuesday’s debate, he criticised Mr Biden for wearing a mask.
“He could be speaking 200 feet away from it, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve seen,” Mr Trump said.
Earlier this year, Mr Trump said he began taking the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent contracting the virus. This is despite it not being a proven treatment.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky news Australia
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