US President Donald Trump and First Lady tested positive for the Coronavirus
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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus and are going into quarantine "immediately".
"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" tweeted the US president.
Trump is the latest world leader to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Jonhson was the first major leader who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March. Election campaign in doldrums
The future of Trump’s re-election campaign is in doldrums due to his illness and inability to address the rallies before the crucial November 3 vote.
According to a New York Times report, “Even if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time.”
“If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all,” the report added.
The report noted that the positive test could prove “devastating” to his political fortunes given his months of diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic.
Earlier, the US President had tweeted that he was awaiting his test results after one of his close adviser Hope Hicks had tested positive for the virus. He had also said that he was going into quarantine with his wife Melania while awaiting for the result.
Hope Hicks, a top adviser to the president who has travelled with him on Air Force One several times this week, has contracted the virus, according to US media reports. - APP/AFP
