US President Donald Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19

By Adedapo Adesanya

The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, has tested positive for the coronavirus alongside the First Lady, Mrs Melania Trump.

This was disclosed by the American President this morning in a tweet. He said, “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”

Later, the first lady wrote on Twitter that she and her husband were “feeling good.”

In a memo, the President’s physician, Dr Sean Conley, wrote that he received confirmation of the positive tests on Thursday evening.

“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

“The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions,” Conley wrote, without elaborating what assistance was being provided to the White House.

“Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any further developments,” he wrote.

The announcement came after Ms Hope Hicks, who serves as counsellor to the president and accompanied him to the presidential debate on Tuesday and to a Minnesota rally on Wednesday, tested positive on Thursday.

It is believed that the president may have contracted the contagion from her.

Mr Trump contracting the coronavirus adds a new chapter to his administration’s handling of the pandemic, which has attracted widespread criticism. With over 7 million recorded cases and almost 208,000 deaths, the US has been affected by the virus more than any other nation on earth.

Globally, there have been 34.5 million recorded cases of the virus while death stands at 1.03 million in 188 countries with recovery at 25.9 million.

Here in Nigeria, latest data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) data showed that there have been 58,848 cases out of which over 50,000 have recovered and have been discharged. About 7,000 active cases remain in the country, with the fatality rate currently at 1,112.