From the BBC:
“Coronavirus:
Donald Trump and Melania test positive”
US President
Donald Trump has said he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for
coronavirus and are now in quarantine. The president, aged 74 and therefore in
a high-risk group, announced the news in a tweet. "We will get through
this together," he wrote. It comes after one of his closest aides tested
positive for coronavirus. Hope Hicks, the 31-year-old adviser to the president,
was the closest aide to Mr Trump to test positive so far. She travelled with
him on Air Force One to the first presidential TV debate with Democratic rival
Joe Biden in Ohio on Tuesday. Some of Mr Trump's family members who attended
the debate were seen not wearing masks. Mr Trump has mostly spurned mask-wearing
and has often been pictured not socially distanced with aides or others during
official engagements. Mr Trump's physician, Sean Conley, released a statement,
saying the president and the first lady were "both well at this time, and
they plan to remain at home within the White House during their
convalescence". "Rest assured I expect the president to continue
carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep
you updated on any future developments," the statement said.
Coronavirus:
What is the risk to men over 50? Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump said he and
his wife, who is 50, were going into quarantine after Ms Hicks's positive test.
He tweeted: "Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even
taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! "The
First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will
begin our quarantine process!" It is not clear how Mr Trump's
positive test will affect arrangements for the second presidential debate,
which is scheduled for 15 October in Miami, Florida. Mr Trump is not the
first world leader to have tested positive. Earlier this year, British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro were infected.
They both have since recovered, although Mr Johnson had to receive regular
oxygen treatment to help his breathing during hospitalisation.
'An
earth-shaking development' A week after Donald Trump told Americans not to
worry about Covid-19 because "it affects virtually nobody" except the
elderly and those with heart conditions, the president himself has tested
positive for the virus .It is difficult to overstate exactly how earth-shaking
a development this is, just 32 days before the US elections. The
president will have to quarantine for treatment. Campaign rallies are off. The
next presidential debate, in two weeks, is in question. The recurring
message from the president, that the nation is "rounding the turn" in
its handling of the virus, has been undermined by his own illness. Just
two days ago, during the first debate, Trump belittled Democratic opponent Joe
Biden for frequently wearing masks and not having campaign rallies that matched
his own in size. Now, the White House and the campaign will have to
answer why the president took such a seemingly cavalier attitude toward
protecting himself - and how many others in the White House and the higher
echelons of the US government may have been exposed. During times of
national turmoil, the American public tends to rally in support of the
president. It may not be enough to insulate him from the questions that follow,
however.
What about
Hope Hicks? According to Bloomberg News, Ms Hicks is experiencing symptoms
of Covid-19, and was quarantined on Air Force One on the trip back from a
Minnesota rally. A White House official quoted by The Hill political
news outlet said that contact tracing had been carried out "and the
appropriate notifications and recommendations have been made". During
a phone call with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, Mr Trump said
he and Mrs Trump "spend a lot of time with Hope". Ms Hicks was
a campaign spokeswoman during Mr Trump's candidacy before becoming
communications director in his White House. She stepped down in March
2018 to become chief communications officer at Rupert Murdoch's Fox, before
returning to the White House in February.
Have there
been other cases at the White House? In May, Vice-President Mike Pence's
press secretary Katie Miller tested positive and later recovered. That
same month, a member of the US Navy who was serving as one of Mr Trump's
personal valets tested positive. But the White House said at the time
that neither the president nor vice-president were affected. National
Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, a number of Secret Service agents, a Marine
One pilot and a White House cafeteria worker have also tested positive. The
coronavirus has infected more than 7.2 million Americans, killing more than
200,000 of them. The White House tests aides and anyone else who comes
into contact with the president daily.
^ This is neither surprising (considering how Trump doesn’t take Covid-19 seriously) nor is it a shame (again if anyone deserves to get Covid-19 it would be him for his lax views and actions about it.) Him getting Covid-19 shows he was wrong in every thing he has ever said about Covid-19 and also that he is not immune or “blessed” from some higher power. He got sick just like everyone else that refuses to wear a mask and social distance. One good thing about this is that hopefully it will knock some Covid-19 sense into him. I feel bad and sorry for the men, women and children that take every precaution they can and yet still get sick, but don't feel any sympathy for those who flout the rules and the science and then get sick. ^
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