Three major world leaders – US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – have now tested positive for coronavirus.
All three have downplayed the virus, and received criticism from experts and members of the public for not taking the pandemic seriously, said CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
Johnson’s hospitalization: Johnson tested positive in March and probably had “the worst experience of any world leader,” Zakaria said.
Johnson spent three days hospitalised in the ICU, on a ventilator receiving oxygen. After his recovery, he credited Britain’s National Health Service with saving his life.
“He did not mince words. He thought he was that close. He seems a much more subdued man,” said Zakaria. “He had resisted any kind of social distancing and the lockdown. He’s come out of it much more attentive to social distancing, much more attentive to urging people to follow the rules.”
Bolsonaro dismissed the virus: In Brazil, Bolsonaro spent months downplaying the threat from coronavirus, dismissing it as just a “little flu” and assuring his compatriots they had little to fear.
Less than two weeks after testing positive, Bolsonaro took a walk in the grounds of his presidential palace and greeted a crowd of supporters, video broadcast live on his Facebook page showed. He repeatedly lowered his mask while talking, including when aides were nearby.
A senior official has confirmed to CNN that Bill Stepien, President Trump’s campaign manager, tested positive for the coronavirus.
He will work from home, the official said.
In the past day, a number of other officials close to the President have also tested positive, including former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tweeted an update from the President’s physician.
The update reads:
Remdesivir is an antiviral drug, developed by Gilead Sciences.
Earlier Friday, the physician announced that Trump was also taking the experimental Regeneron antibody cocktail.
Watch:
President Donald Trump has tweeted for the first time since arriving in hospital to be treated for Covid-19, saying, “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!“
Trump sent the tweet from inside Walter Reed Military Hospital, where he was admitted earlier today.
The President has had a fever since this morning, according to a source. Trump’s physician confirmed that he has received a dose of the experimental Regeneron treatment.
Watch:
The Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett and committee vote are moving forward as planned, according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham – despite two Republicans on his committee testing positive for Covid-19.
The hearings are scheduled for October 12. The vote is scheduled for October 22.
Sens. Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, who both attended Trump’s nomination ceremony for Barrett last weekend, confirmed they tested positive on Friday.
The hearings and vote will go ahead: Graham said he expects the two senators to be back in time for the committee vote. The concern is if Democrats boycott the committee vote, the GOP may not have a quorum for that vote if both senators are absent. The committee rules require a majority of members on the panel to be present for a quorum.
Graham said he also needs the two senators to be back by October 15, when the committee will begin its debate of the nomination after the hearings are done.
But even if they don’t have a quorum, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can always advance the nomination to the floor under the rules.
How this could affect the vote: Either Tillis or Lee would be needed for a successful confirmation vote since the GOP can only afford to lose three votes on the floor and are already likely to lose two: Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
The October 12 hearings could still take place with the two absent. Graham said the two senators could participate virtually at the hearing.
President Trump’s son Eric and his wife Lara have both tested negative for the coronavirus, according to a statement from their spokesperson that was posted by Lara on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Both are in New York City, according to a source familiar with the situation.
On Thursday, President Trump flew to New Jersey for a fundraiser – with the White House already aware of Hope Hicks’ diagnosis.
In New Jersey, Trump attended three events: an indoor roundtable, an indoor VIP reception and an outdoor reception, according to an event invitation obtained by CNN.
Attendees took photos with Trump: Attendees from Texas said they were tested for coronavirus before arriving at the VIP reception, where they took their photo with the President. They said each individually conversed with Trump for less than a minute while the photo was taken, and maintained six feet of distance.
Attendees at the VIP reception did not wear masks, they said, but event staff did.
The roundtable attended by the President was for the fundraisers’ biggest donors, according to the invitation.
Both indoors and outdoors: CNN has previously reported, citing two different sources, that the roundtable included 18 attendees, was held indoors at socially distanced tables, and no one wore masks.
One source also said those at the roundtable were tested ahead of time.
The outdoor reception was open to all donors. Katherine Hermes told CNN that Trump stood at a podium, socially distant from the attendees, and held a question-and-answer session.
She and the Texas attendees say they were kept in two groups, separated by barricades.
The group closer to the President had been tested for coronavirus. Hermes’ group, which was present for the outdoor reception, only received temperature checks and was kept further away.
The two groups didn’t mingle and most attendees were not wearing masks, according to Hermes and the Texas attendees.
Kellyanne Conway has tested positive for coronavirus, the former White House counselor tweeted on Friday.
She is latest attendee of President Trump’s event announcing the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett last Saturday to test positive.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, and Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins also attended the event, and all have since tested positive.
“Tonight I tested positive for COVID-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians,” she tweeted. “As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic.”
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has still not spoken with Donald Trump since news broke that the President tested positive for Covid-19 almost 24 hours ago, a senior State Department official told CNN.
Pompeo spent much of the day, while he was traveling back to Washington from Croatia, focused on issues related to Trump and coronavirus, the official said.
Taking precautions: Pompeo and his team made sure that all the State Department staff who had been in contact with White House officials in recent weeks were tested for Covid-19. That list includes everyone from top State Department officials who have attended interagency meetings to lower-level protocol officials.
Pompeo also spent time speaking with US ambassadors abroad about the situation, and urged them to take care of themselves.
He has not sent any department-wide emails addressing the situation and has no plans to do so, the official said.
Pompeo, who has been traveling in Europe since Sunday, did speak with Vice President Mike Pence twice on Friday, he told the pool reporters. Pompeo also told reporters he has not seen Trump in person in more than two weeks and tested negative for Covid-19 early Friday.
Pompeo’s schedule: At this point, Pompeo has not cancelled any of his planned travel over the next week.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, first lady Fran DeWine, and Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted tested negative for coronavirus, according to a release from the governor’s office.
At a briefing earlier Friday, DeWine wished President Trump and first lady a “good recovery” after Trump announced he and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus.
Husted attended the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday and said he “saw almost everybody had a mask on inside the venue” from his limited vantage point.
“To get in the debate hall you had to have a test that came back negative for the virus,” everybody had to have their temperature taken, wear a mask and sit six feet apart, Husted said.
“While I know that there were a couple people there who may not have had [masks], I thought that Cleveland Clinic did a really fine job,” said Husted.
The Cleveland Clinic advised the Commission on Presidential Debates and confirmed Friday that not all individuals adhered to mask wearing requirements during Tuesday’s presidential debate.
The White House has released President Trump’s schedule for Saturday and as of right now, there are no public events listed.
The schedule also makes no mention of the fact that he is currently away from the White House and hospitalized at Walter Reed medical center.
Vice President Mike Pence will lead a conference call with the coronavirus task force tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
The vice president will remain at his official residence at the Naval Observatory for the call.
Pence often leads these calls or video teleconferences from the White House Situation Room.
It’s unclear if any task force members will convene at the White House for the call.
CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper today on why it’s important for the public to feel reassured that “the government will continue” to operate during moments of crisis.
Naftali added: “That’s why it matters that you have trust. It’s not just a political thing for reelection.”
Watch:
Vice President Mike Pence and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will now be spaced 12 feet apart at Wednesday’s debate, a source familiar with the plans tells CNN.
This comes after negotiations between the two campaigns and the debate commission.
The Biden campaign had expressed concerns to the commission that the two candidates would be seated only seven feet apart.
The White House confirmed doctors gave President Trump a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron’s experimental antibody therapy to treat Covid-19.
Regeneron, a New York-based biotech company, confirmed that it provided the drug in what’s commonly known as a “compassionate use” request from the President’s physicians.
The therapy is known as REGN-COV2; the company calls it a “cocktail” of two monoclonal antibodies.
Polyclonal antibodies are made using several different immune cells, while monoclonal antibodies are made using identical immune cells that are clones of a specific parent cell.
To make its monoclonal antibody therapy, Regeneron scientists selected two antibodies that best neutralized a version of the novel coronavirus in the lab. They then cloned these antibodies and put it into a treatment. Regeneron is using two antibodies since they think it will work best as the virus mutates.
About Regeneron’s Covid-19 antibody therapy trials: The company started testing the treatment in humans in June. Early trials showed it was safe.
On Tuesday, the company announced results from the first 275 non-hospitalized patients in a late-stage trial that showed that the treatment was safe and seemed to reduce viral levels and improve symptoms in patients with Covid-19. The greatest improvements were seen in patients who hadn’t already mounted a detectable immune response to the novel coronavirus. The patients in the trial were younger than Trump; the average age was 44 years old. More than 40% of the patients were obese, like the President, and a total of 64% of the patients had one or more underlying risk factor for severe Covid-19.
The study results have not been peer-reviewed and only topline data was available from the company in a news release.
Outside infectious disease experts said the early results looked “very promising,” but they would need to see results from a larger number of patients.
What’s next: The company said it is continuing to study this therapy. There will be more data to come from this trial and from a trial involving hospitalized patients and one that is testing the antibody cocktail as prevention for people who have contact with someone in their household who has Covid-19.
Regeneron is in talks with regulators to see if the US Food and Drug Administration would consider an emergency authorization of the drug.
There are at least 70 different antibody treatments for Covid-19 under investigation.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, has tested positive for Covid-19, he announced in a statement.
Tillis, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had attended Trump’s announcement of his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday.
President Trump is now “in a race” against coronavirus, the CEO of biotechnology company Regeneron said after the drug maker provided a dose of its experimental antibody treatment to the President on Friday.
“He’s in a race where his immune system is racing against the virus, and if the virus wins you can have dire consequences, obviously, and what our antibodies do is we make it a fair fight,” Dr. Leonard Schleifer told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
“That’s the strategy. We’ve got a lot of data but we’re still in the experimental phase, but when you’re in the midst of a pandemic and you have people at risk, we think it makes sense to try these,” he added.
Regeneron’s experimental monoclonal antibody treatment is still in large-scale clinical trials, but Schleifer said it is available for compassionate use, something the US Food and Drug and Administration has to approve on an individual basis.
Trump received a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron’s dual antibody cocktail Friday and completed the infusion without incident, the President’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement.
A single high-dose should do the trick, Schleifer said. “It’s a large enough dose, so that it’ll last for quite a long time, hopefully even beyond when he’s made a complete recovery,” Schleifer said. “We have evidence ready that these are long lasting in the body, as you’d expect with this type of therapy.”
The cocktail includes two monoclonal antibodies—lab-engineered versions of immune system proteins targeted specifically against coronavirus. “It’s not all that complicated. We’re just trying to mimic the natural immune system, which really isn’t ready to go when the virus is already going,” Schliefer said.
Schleifer says Regeneron is seeing promising results in its clinical trials of the treatment.
Schleifer would not say whether first lady Melania Trump received the same experimental treatment.
In response to the Biden campaign’s decision to pull negative TV ads while President Trump is hospitalized, spokesperson Tim Murtaugh told CNN that the Trump campaign will not make a similar move.
Earlier today: Joe Biden’s campaign pulled all negative ads today, going all positive after Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19, a campaign aide told CNN.
This decision was made before the White House announced that Trump will go to Walter Reed medical center.
President Trump is currently at Walter Reed medical center after announcing that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
If you’re just reading in now, here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Anderson Cooper explains latest developments:
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro wished President Trump a speedy recovery in a message posted on his Facebook account as Trump was being flown to Walter Reed hospital.
Writing alongside an image of Marine One lifting off from the White House, Bolsonaro wrote, “With faith in God, they will soon be recovered and the work in running their country and their re-election campaign will not be harmed.”
“You will win and leave stronger, for the good of the USA and the world.” Bolsonaro added.
Bolsonaro spent months downplaying the threat from coronavirus, dismissing it as just a “little flu” and assuring his compatriots they had little to fear, before himself testing positive for Covid-19 in early July.
The Biden campaign has raised health concerns about the vice presidential debate slated to take place next Wednesday to the Commission on Presidential Debates, in light of President Trump testing positive for Covid-19, a source familiar with those conversations said.
Amid negotiations with the commission about the terms of the Kamala Harris-Mike Pence face-off, the Biden campaign expressed opposition to the podiums being spaced seven feet apart, and asked that they be 12 feet apart instead, the source said.
The Biden campaign sees the podium-spacing issue as a “very serious concern,” the source added.
The President’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump called her father “a warrior” following his arrival at Walter Reed medical center this afternoon.
Trump was flown there aboard Marine One after saying he contracted Covid-19.
Read the tweet:
The Trump campaign has notified attendees of Thursday’s fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club that the President has tested positive for coronavirus.
The email reiterated that attendees were not allowed within six feet of the President, per the campaign’s protocol.
The email went on to encourage attendees to contact their medical provider if they or their loved ones develop Covid-19 symptoms. It did not make any mention of quarantining or self-isolation but did recommend attendees visit the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
The email was sent early Friday afternoon.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent “warm greetings” and a message of sympathy to President Trump after he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA.
Kim said he “sincerely hoped they would be recovered as soon as possible” and “he hoped they will surely overcome” the disease, KCNA reported.
The message was sent prior to Trump taking Marine One to Walter Reed medical center for Covid-19 symptoms.
Anyone who has been in President Trump’s inner circle should be tested for coronavirus infection and should not decide they’re clear just because they have tested negative for the virus one time, an infectious diseases chief said Friday.
Dr. John Mellors, head of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said he would expect more people associated with Trump to test positive for coronavirus in the coming days.
Mellors added: “Everybody needs to be tested. Everybody who has had contact with him needs to be tested.”
One negative coronavirus test does not mean people should not quarantine or take other precautions to protect those around them, Mellors added. Tests are not 100% accurate.
“They ought to do some very quick contact tracing and isolation to stop the spread in the government,” said Mellors, one of the world’s top experts in the treatment and spread of the AIDS virus, who has helped organize UPMC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“They are going to have to follow the science now. They should have followed it all along,” Mellors added. “This is an absolute wakeup call. Stop fiddling around and making this a political issue. Wear the masks. They work. It’s that simple. There should be federal and state mandates to wear a mask.”
Mellors also disputed White House physician Dr. Jesse Schonau’s statement that Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative for coronavirus and thus does not need to quarantine because Pence was not a close contact of anyone infected.
“If he was in the Oval Office with Trump in the last week, then he was exposed,” Mellors said.
In his first tweet since announcing he had tested positive for Covid-19, President Trump shared words of thanks and encouragement during a short 18-second long video.
Watch the video:
President Trump was spooked after he tested positive for coronavirus and has become increasingly alarmed by his diagnosis as he developed symptoms, like a fever, overnight, according to a person familiar with his reaction.
President Donald Trump is at a military hospital outside Washington, DC, after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
Trump arrived at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland moments ago.
See President Trump’s arrival:
President Trump was spotted flashing a thumbs up while walking to board Marine One this afternoon.
Trump is on his way to Walter Reed medical center following his Covid-19 diagnosis earlier today.
See the moment:
President Donald Trump walked out of the residence of the White House at 6:16 p.m. wearing a mask and a suit. He waved to the media but did not stop to talk.
Chief of staff Mark Meadows, also in a mask, followed.
He boarded Marine One at 6:17 p.m.
Watch the moment:
CNN’s Jim Acosta snapped a photo of press secretary Kayleigh McEnany wearing a mask ahead of the President’s departure from the White House this afternoon aboard Marine One.
She is standing with a group of people in the back of the photo.
Former President Barack Obama gave his “best wishes” to President Trump and first lady Melania Trump as they were diagnosed with Covid-19, during a virtual fundraiser with Kamala Harris for the Biden-Harris campaign.
“Michelle and I are hopeful that they and others who have been affected by COVID-19 around the country are getting the care that they need, that they are going to be on the path to a speedy recovery,” Obama said.
“And it’s important I think for all of us to remember that even when we’re in the midst of big political battles with issues that have a lot at stake, that we’re all Americans, and we’re all human beings,” he added, “hoping that we can all be healthy.”
Joe Biden’s campaign is pulling all negative ads today, going all positive after President Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19, a campaign aide told CNN.
This decision was made before the White House announced that Trump will go to Walter Reed medical center.
The news was first reported by the New York Times.
The Gang of Eight — made up of top leaders from Congress and top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees — have not been briefed on President Trump’s health, according to two sources familiar.
The Gang of Eight typically gets briefed on classified intelligence and national security matters, the sources added.
White House communications aide Alyssa Farah tells CNN there has been no transfer of power.
White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere added, “absolutely not,” when asked if there would be a transfer.
Vice President Mike Pence meanwhile is at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, the official residence of the vice president, according to an administration official.
The official says he remains in good health.
President Trump will be spending “the next few days” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
McEnany said in a statement that Trump “remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.”
The President, she said, “will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed.”
Two officials from two previous administrations tell CNN that the “presidential offices” consist of a suite of rooms on the sprawling campus of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, including: a sitting room, a conference room and a hospital bedroom.
But the officials, one Democrat and one Republican, both said the explanation in press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s statement stood out to them as curious. The offices are not dedicated for presidential use only, but the suite of offices are a place where presidents can go while they are on the medical campus.
Marine One has landed on the White House lawn to transport President Trump to Walter Reed medical center.
Watch:
In the event the President travels aboard Marine One while he has coronavirus, there are ways to minimize exposure to the virus of the other key staff aboard.
The front cabin of Marine One, former US Secret Service agent and CNN contributor Jonathan Wackrow said, can be closed, which would include the pilot and crew chief. The crew can also operate on supplemental air, Wackrow said.
USSS agents traveling with the President would have to wear N95 medical-grade masks and other personal protective equipment to prevent inhalation.
It’s always safer for a president to travel via helicopter than in a motorcade for a variety of reasons, Wackrow said, minimizing the risk of a crash with an errant vehicle or a coordinated attack.
Separately, the medical unit has “advanced medical capabilities” at the White House and is prepared for a variety of medical care situations.
But, Wackrow said, their capabilities are typically predicated upon trauma situations, not advanced acute care. While it’s possible to perform something like thoracic surgery in the event of a bullet wound, there are certainly situations where a President would need to be transported to another facility for medical care for a more focused diagnosis – for just one example, a chest X-ray.
President Trump is headed to Walter Reed medical center, according to a White House pool report.
Trump has had a fever since this morning, a person familiar with the matter says. The person said the fever remains consistent with the White House’s earlier description of “mild symptoms.”
This is in addition to new information released by the White House doctor, which described Trump as “fatigued.”
Trump announced on Twitter he tested positive for coronavirus early Friday morning.
Trump was also administered a dose of Regeneron, according to a memorandum from the President’s physician. “As of this afternoon the President remains fatigued but in good spirits. He’s being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we’ll be making recommendations to the President and First Lady in regards to next best steps,” the physician writes.
The memo also says first lady Melania Trump remains well with only a mild cough and headache, and the remainder of the first family are well and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 today.
Hear Dr. Sanjay Gupta discuss:
President Trump’s and first lady Melania Trump’s coronavirus infections will be counted in Florida, not Washington, DC, a DC government official told CNN.
Washington is not their permanent home; Florida is, the official said.
The District of Columbia “only includes its own residents within its case total,” LaToya Foster, communications director for DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, told CNN via email.
The Florida Department of Health said it was “unable to comment on specific epidemiological investigations,” but said cases are recorded according “to an individual’s self-reported permanent residency.”
Trump and the first lady changed their permanent residence to Palm Beach, Florida, last year.
“The White House physician will do their own contact tracing and provide guidance to impacted individuals as has been the practice throughout the pandemic,” Foster said.
The Ohio Department of Health told CNN that federal officials will handle contact tracing for those who may have been exposed to coronavirus at the first presidential debate in Cleveland this week.
Earlier today: President Trump and the first lady have contracted Covid-19 following the first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday.
Joe Biden announced that he has received two Covid-19 tests this morning, according to remarks he made during a visit to Grand Rapids, Michigan, this afternoon.
Biden is delivering remarks at the UFCW local 951 on building back the economy for working families.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sent his “prayers for the health and safety” of President Trump and the first lady while speaking in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Biden said it is not a matter of politics, but a reminder of how serious the virus is.
The former vice president said he has had two Covid-19 tests taken since this morning. Biden tested negative for coronavirus earlier today. He shared the debate stage with Trump during Tuesday’s debate.
President Trump has had a fever since this morning, a person familiar with the matter says. The person said the fever remains consistent with the White House’s earlier description of “mild symptoms.”
This is in addition to new information released by the White House doctor, which described Trump as “fatigued.”
Trump announced on Twitter he tested positive for coronavirus early Friday morning.
President Trump has been administered a dose of experimental Regeneron treatment, according to a memorandum from the President’s physician.
“As of this afternoon the President remains fatigued but in good spirits. He’s being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we’ll be making recommendations to the President and First Lady in regards to next best steps,” the physician writes.
The memo also says first lady Melania Trump remains well with only a mild cough and headache, and the remainder of the First Family are well and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 today.
Here’s what the memo said:
Regeneron is a biotechnology company whose Covid antibody drug is currently in phase 3 trials. You can read more about the trial here.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested negative for Covid-19, her deputy chief of Staff Drew Hammill confirmed in a tweet.
Earlier Pelosi said she got tested out of “an abundance of caution” after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week to discuss a potential stimulus bill. Prior to their meeting, Mnuchin had met with President Trump, who has now tested positive for coronavirus, in the Oval Office.
Read the tweet below:
Much of the President’s care for Covid-19 can be managed at the White House, a source familiar with the White House Medical Unit said.
However, if the President did require critical care – for example, if he required intubation or proning, where a patient is positioned on his stomach – he would likely then be moved to the presidential suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the source said.
The source also added the unit is responsible for contact tracing involving the first and second families, as well as cabinet officials and senior administration officials, all of which are overseen by the unit.
Treatment for the President could include experimental drugs that have not yet received emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration and are unavailable to the general public, according to a source familiar with the White House Medical Unit.
Instead of enrolling in a trial or going through a compassionate use program, the source noted that the WHMU would likely work to obtain those drugs through already-established relationships.
These drugs could be available to the President, but that does not mean they will be necessary.
Current treatments for Covid-19 are limited. There are three that have received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA: the antiviral remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone and convalescent plasma, which is donated by people who recovered from the coronavirus.
According to the FDA, an EUA allows “unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions” from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threat agents “when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.”
It’s unclear whether he misspoke, but White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who this morning described Trump’s coronavirus as “mild,” this afternoon described Trump as having a “very moderate case,” but said he was doing “just fine.”
He declined to say what time Trump was “barking out orders,” saying that he is an “early riser, as a general rule.”
Kudlow reiterated there was continuity of government: “We’re going about our business. The government is functioning, there’s no question about that. And we just hope for a speedy recovery in the residence,” he said.
Kudlow graded Friday’s jobs report as an “A-minus” and reiterated much of what he said about the stimulus bill earlier this morning.
“We’re in the neighborhood of $1.5 trillion, it’s not precise, but we’re in that neighborhood, and we’re still way, way below where the other side is. Look, you know, we don’t need a gigantic humongous bill. I mean with all respect I know there’s political differences and ideological differences, but we can really do that another time,” he said, calling for deals in “targeted key areas.”
Money for states, he said, is still an area of “considerable disagreement,” adding that that should be done “later.”
Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who attended Tuesday’s presidential debate, said he has tested negative for Covid-19.
Read the tweet:
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden decided to go ahead with his campaign travel to Michigan this morning after getting back a negative Covid-19 test.
Three days ago Biden shared a debate stage with Donald Trump – who has now tested positive for Covid-19 – and while their podiums on debate night were more than socially distanced (CNN’s Dan Merica reported more than 12 feet apart), they were still indoors in a room that had dozens of people in the audience.
Some of those people, including members of Trump’s family, were not masked.
Pressed on the thinking behind their decision to go ahead with the Michigan trip today after the negative Covid-19 test, a Biden official said:
Christianné Allen, the spokesperson for Rudy Giuliani, just confirmed that the former New York City mayor and President Trump’s lawyer has tested negative for coronavirus.
Earlier she confirmed that Giuliani is in New York and was quarantining there while he awaited his results.
The Cleveland Clinic, that advises the Commission on Presidential Debates, confirmed that not all individuals adhered to mask wearing requirements during Tuesday’s presidential debate.
In an earlier statement on Friday, the Cleveland Clinic said it believes there is a “low risk of exposure to our guests,” and it had safety requirements that align with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, “including social distancing, hand sanitizing, temperature checks and masking.
“Most importantly, everyone permitted inside the debate hall tested negative for Covid-19 prior to entry. Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested, and tested negative by their respective campaigns,” the organization said.
The Cleveland Clinic has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment about when or how attendees were tested.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for Covid-19 and does not need to quarantine, his physician said in a memo Friday.
Pence tested negative Friday morning, Dr. Jesse T. Schonau said in a statement, confirming a tweet from the vice president’s office earlier in the day.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance is that close contact is defined as a person standing within six feet or closer for 15 minutes or more.
The statement from Pence’s doctor implies the vice president hasn’t been in close range of the President, or anyone else who has tested positive at the White House, at a rally or on a stage.
CNN has reported that Pence was in the Oval Office with the President on Tuesday.
Pence is still planning on traveling to Salt Lake City Monday ahead of his scheduled debate with Sen. Kamala Harris Wednesday, an administration official told CNN.
In a memo released moments ago, his physician says he does not need to quarantine because he was not considered a close contact with President Trump.
Some more insight: During an interview on CNN, former acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser cautioned that frequent testing is one of the best ways to track Covid-19 infections.
Besser also underscored that negative tests are not a shield against the virus.
“You could be infected and not have a positive test for close to two weeks, which is why the recommendations are that you be quarantined and you stay away from people in that period,” he added.
Shawn Wood, the community liaison and communications specialist for the University of Utah, told CNN that the school is still moving forward with plans to hold the vice presidential debate there on Wednesday.
At this point, the Commission on Presidential Debates has not responded to repeated inquiries as to whether or not plans for future debates will change as a result of the President’s Covid-19 diagnosis.
As of today, both Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris have tested negative and the Trump campaign says Pence will continue his campaign duties as normal.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem attended the closed-press fundraiser in Minneapolis with President Trump on Wednesday, her spokesperson, Ian Fury, told CNN on Friday.
When asked if the governor would get tested for Covid-19 due to the President’s positive test, Fury told CNN in a statement that she tested negative on Tuesday night, the evening prior to the event.
On Monday, Noem announced that she will be calling a special session of the state legislature to meet on Oct. 5. The purpose is to consider legislations related to the use of Coronavirus Relief Funds, a press release issued by the state said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany reiterated that President Trump is “in very good spirits and having mild symptoms,” but is making calls from the White House residence and will appear publicly in some capacity in the coming days.
She suggested that Trump will appear publicly in the coming days but declined to provide additional details.
“It’s safe to say that you’ll be seeing and hearing from the President as he moves forward with his working schedule. We’re exploring a number of different ways to do that. But he wants to talk to the American people. I can tell you this about President Trump: This man loves the American people, loves speaking to them directly. And nothing’s going to stop them from doing just that,” she said.
She was asked about a New York Times report questioning whether Trump should remain on the ballot, calling it a “ridiculous assertion.”
More details: McEnany tested negative yesterday and today, Fox News host Harris Faulkner said, which McEnany confirmed.
She said she didn’t know when the President was made aware of Hope Hicks’ diagnosis but Trump learned of his diagnosis last night and the tweet was put out “within an hour.
She said she was “unaware” of Hicks’ diagnosis but “immediately” when she got a positive result, contact tracing was put into place.
“Rest assured, we will always do what is in the best interest of the American people and those around, and I have confidence in the White House medical unit to make the right decisions as they did with Hope and with others,” she said.
McEnany couldn’t say that any protocols are changing at the White House in light of the news.
“We put in place safety procedures, the White Hose Correspondents’ Association has spaces between the chairs, we wear masks in the White House when we can’t socially distance. The president, we make sure we’re always six feet away and we stay away from each other. So we’ll go forward with those same procedures, and we believe that we will protect those here in the White House as we come to work, as we’re essential workers,” she said.
White House staffers, of course, have been observed largely eschewing masks and social distancing during public events.
President Trump’s trip to New Jersey for a fundraiser on Thursday was deemed safe by White House operations, the White House said Friday. However, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany falsely claimed it was an outdoor event.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports the event took place both outside and indoors.
Asked who made the call, she responded that “White House operations made the assessment that it was safe for the President in consultation with others.”
The press secretary refused to get into specifics about what kind of test Trump took for his diagnosis, but said that “within an hour we put out that information to the American people.” Likewise, she wouldn’t detail the President’s exact symptoms.
Confirming CNN’s previous reporting, McEnany claimed she did not know about Hope Hicks’ positive Covid-19 diagnosis before yesterday’s press briefing.
McEnany also said Trump has spoken with Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lindsay Graham Friday about stimulus negotiations.
On Friday afternoon, shortly after the White House press corps were notified that one journalist and one White House staffer who works with the media had tested positive for Covid-19, a follow-up memo carried word of another case of a sick journalist.
This means that two White House reporters have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days.
The new memo, from the White House Correspondents Association board, at 1:33 p.m. ET, said:
Saturday was the day of the Supreme Court announcement at the White House and Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania
A White House official downplayed the President missing a 12:15 p.m. call on his public schedule, calling it a “slight” change.
But all events were removed from Trump’s public schedule, with the exception of that call, in updated daily guidance that was released following his diagnosis at 1:11 am.
Instead, Vice President Mike Pence led the call on protecting America’s seniors. Pence did not provide an explanation for Trump’s absence on the call beyond the initial diagnosis, but said Trump was “well.”
The last 12 hours have served as a frightening reminder of just how vulnerable Capitol Hill is when it comes to coronavirus. And lawmakers are once again calling for their leadership to implement a wide-ranging testing plan to ensure the safety of not only members, but workers and aides at the Capitol complex.
Sen. Mike Lee’s positive coronavirus diagnosis – his proximity to SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barret, his participation in GOP lunches and attendance at the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday – is just the latest reminder that Capitol Hill is not immune from the threat of this virus. The way that the massive complex operates can leave it more susceptible to outbreaks.
For months, Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri and chairman of the Rules Committee, has been arguing to his colleagues and Democratic and Republican leaders that the Capitol must implement a testing plan to protect staff and members. But, those calls have often fallen on deaf ears as leaders have raised concerns about the optics of Congress being regularly tested when Americans across the country have complained of long delays in getting their results.
Now, however, multiple members tell CNN that something needs to be done.
A Republican senator told CNN that the Senate “probably needs some kind of new procedures” in how it operates.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier today that the President’s diagnosis was evidence that “the Senate needs a testing and contract tracing program for Senators, staff and all who work in the Capitol complex.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told CNN that he talked to Pelosi this morning about a testing regimen, “but we haven’t made a decision on that.”
Hoyer said a decision could be made before lawmakers return after the election.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly pushed for testing at the Capitol and publicly disagreed with Pelosi and McConnell when they turned down rapid testing from the White House in the spring.
“With so many bodies coming in and out of here, I don’t understand why the Speaker would continue to not have testing, McCarthy told reporters Friday.
Other members have argued that it is up to individual members to get tested on their own.
“Everybody should be tested on a regular basis, but we can be tested in our local areas,” Rep. Donna Shalala, a Democrat from Florida, told reporters Friday during votes.
Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a message from the school sent to members of the Campus Community Friday afternoon.
The message said Jenkins was in self-quarantine after a colleague who he was in contact with tested positive.
“Fr Jenkins was tested and found to be positive for COVID-19 too. As a result, he is entering an extended period of isolation as indicated by University medical personnel and county health officials,” the message said.
“My symptoms are mild, and I will continue work from home,” Jenkins said in a statement. “The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for all of how vigilant we need to be.”
The University declined to make further comment.
Some context: This comes nearly a week after Jenkins attended the announcement for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
He was seen at the announcement shaking hands and not wearing a mask.
On Monday, Jenkins wrote a letter to his students titled “I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask,” in which he apologized and said he would quarantine out of an abundance of caution in accordance with university protocols.
“I know many of you have read about the White House ceremony I recently attended. I write to express my regret for certain choices I made that day and for failing to lead as I should have,” Jenkins said in the letter.
“When I arrived at the White House, a medical professional took me to an exam room to obtain a nasal swab for a rapid COVID-19 test. I was then directed to a room with others, all fully masked, until we were notified that we had all tested negative and were told that it was safe to remove our masks,” he explained. “We were then escorted to the Rose Garden, where I was seated with others who also had just been tested and received negative results.”
“I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden,” Jenkins added.
President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was diagnosed with coronavirus late this summer but has recovered, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Barrett and her husband Jessee were diagnosed. Jesse Barrett was asymptomatic but Amy Barrett felt “a little under the weather but recovered,” one of the sources said.
Barrett tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere.
He added that Barrett, who is tested daily, is following CDC guidance and was last with the President on Saturday when she was officially nominated.
An internal memo from the White House Correspondents Association board to reporters says there are “two additional cases of COVID-19 at the White House.”
The memo, obtained by CNN’s Brian Stelter, says members of the media are being notified “so that you can make informed judgements.”
A journalist who was tested “as part of today’s in-house pool” received a preliminary positive result. And a White House staffer who sits in the “lower press” area of the West Wing received a confirmed positive result on Friday morning.
“All other journalists tested today tested negative,” according to the memo.
The correspondents association board said “we can’t stress enough the importance of mask-wearing, social distancing and common sense, especially on the White House complex.”
“Additionally,” the board said, “we are again asking journalists who are not in the pool and do not have an enclosed workspace to refrain from working out of the White House at this time.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the correspondents association has taken a more proactive position than the Trump administration and has encouraged journalists to take common sense precautions while covering the administration.
WATCH:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, postponed a scheduled coronavirus webcast Friday after President Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
Fauci had been scheduled to take part in a Survivor Corps webinar with Diana Berrent, who founded the Covid-19 advocacy group, at 2 p.m. ET on Friday.
Survivor Corps is a “grassroots community” of Covid-19 survivors who educate and support each other “while advocating for convalescent plasma donation and engagement in scientific trials and medical studies to help stem the tide of the pandemic and assist in the national recovery,” the group’s website says.
Survivor Corps tells CNN they will announce a new date for the event soon.
Vice President Mike Pence led a call on protecting America’s seniors on Friday afternoon after President Trump tested positive for coronavirus.
Trump had been set to dial into the call, according to guidance released after his diagnosis that eliminated all of his other public events. Pence did not provide an explanation for Trump’s absence on the call beyond the initial diagnosis, but said Trump was “well.”
He continued, “But the President asked me to take this call today with Secretary Alex Azar and other team members of our teams, first and foremost, to say thank you.”
Pence was speaking to state and local officials, as well as nursing home and assisted living officials, health administrators, and senior advocate organization members.
The White House has not responded to multiple requests for comment from CNN on why the President did not dial in.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday said his prayers are with the President and first lady following their Covid-19 diagnosis.
Later in the briefing, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said, “We don’t generally comment on the behavior of any specific individual, and we don’t know of risk management measures were in place around any given individual – especially someone as prominent as a president.”
“Each and every individual, and each and every citizen, should be guided by the national guidance in their country,” Ryan said.
Washing hands, staying a safe distance from each other, avoiding crowded spaces, wearing a mask – these are “the best way to protect society,” he said.
“We will not comment on the specific risk management measures or behavior of a specific individual. We are a community. We need to get through this together. This is not the time to turn on each other,” he added.
Vice President Mike Pence, as well as various Trump family members – including Trump’s son Barron and daughter Ivanka – may have just tested negative for coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean they are in the clear, one pathologist said Friday.
Dr. Alan Wells, medical director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Clinical Labs, points out the rapid tests used to make quick daily diagnoses do not catch all cases, and any test performed too early will give a false negative.
People cannot test negative the day after an exposure and skip quarantine, Wells said in a statement sent to CNN.
“Testing isn’t a get out of jail free card,” he said.
Sen. Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff both tested negative for Covid-19 this morning, according to an aide.
They will continue on their planned travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, and Greensboro, North Carolina, respectively.
Harris had tested negative yesterday as part of the campaign’s routine testing.
President Trump is not participating in the midday call about coronavirus support for seniors that was listed on his public schedule.
Instead, Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the call, saying Trump asked him to lead it, according to a state official.
Pence did not provide a reason beyond saying that Trump and the first lady tested positive. From there, he jumped into remarks.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Joe Biden has tested negative for coronavirus, according to Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the Bidens’ primary care physician.
In a tweet, Biden also confirmed that his wife Jill tested negative for coronavirus.
Biden shared the debate stage with President Trump on Tuesday.
President Trump and Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19. They both have mild symptoms and are quarantining.
If you’re just tuning in, here’s what we know so far:
Trump’s condition
White House and campaign business is continuing
When the White House knew about positive tests
Other key figures
Reaction
Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday and did not have “direct, close contact” with the President during the timeframe that would have resulted in an exposure, a CDC spokesperson said in a statement.
Read the full statement:
Per a source with knowledge of the presidential debate set up, the distance between Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s podiums at Tuesday’s debate was 12 feet and 8 inches.
The debate’s Covid-19 measures: The candidates did not shake hands with each other during the debate and did not shake hands with the moderator. Biden nor Trump wore masks on stage.
According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, everyone attending the debate at Case Western Reserve University, would undergo testing for Covid-19 and follow other health safety protocols.
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah who met with Amy Coney Barrett Tuesday, has tested positive for coronavirus. He took the test yesterday and the results came back today, according to a statement he posted on Twitter.
In his tweet he makes a point of noting that he’ll be back in time for the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Barrett’s nomination.
Lee also attended the Supreme Court unveiling announcement on Saturday.
See his tweet:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said President Trump is expected to be on a governors call at noon today. Cuomo made the comment during the state’s Covid-19 news briefing.
The governor said if Trump is on this call it would be good news because Trump is still working.
Governors are supposed to be discussing Covid-19 with the President.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for a testing and contact tracing program for Senators and staff.
He said in a statement that the positive tests at the White House “demonstrates that the Senate needs a testing and contact tracing program for Senators, staff, and all who work in the Capitol complex. We simply cannot allow the administration’s cavalier attitude to adversely affect this branch of government.”
Schumer also said the administration needs to be transparent and follow the protocols that are in place.
“Though they have not done so in the past, the administration must now follow the science and all recommended health protocols in order to not put additional people at risk. And they must be completely transparent,” he said in the statement.
First lady Melania Trump tweets confirmed that she also has mild symptoms of coronavirus, but she added “overall feeling good.”
“Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery,” Trump said on Twitter.
The White House has said that President Trump is also currently experiencing mild symptoms.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley tested negative for Covid-19 Friday and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was tested again Friday “as planned for continuation of his travel” after testing negative on Monday and Wednesday this week, according to Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman.
Esper is currently traveling in north Africa and Hoffman said he “will not be returning to the US early.”
“Secretary Esper and Chairman Milley last met with the President on Sunday at the White House Gold Star Families event,” Hoffman said in a statement.
The have been no changes to Department of Defense alert levels, Hoffman said.
“With regard to reports about E-6B aircraft on alert status, US STRATCOM has confirmed these E-6B aircraft were part of pre-planned missions,” he said. “Any timing to the president’s announcement was purely coincidental.”
“The Secretary, Mrs. Esper, Chairman Milley, and Mrs. Milley send their thoughts and prayers to the President and First Lady for a swift recovery,” Hoffman said.
“The Secretary has expressed his appreciation for the White House’s military medical team and is confident that they will ensure that the President and First Lady – like all members of our military family – will continue to receive the best medical care in the world,” he said.
Following President Trump testing positive for Covid-19, several government officials, who regularly interact with him, have announced that they have gotten tested and the result came out negative. This includes Ivanka Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. But here’s why a negative test result may not enough.
A test can produce a false negative.
He recommended that every person who came in close contact with the President — more than 15 minutes, within six feet — needs to quarantine regardless of their test results.
“They need to be quarantined. Not just tested, tested is nice, it’s important to have, but tests can come back false negative,” Gupta said. “Even on the day of the debate, test could have come back false negative. That’s why everyone has to behave like they have the virus.”
You are most contagious before you show symptoms of Covid-19
People who test positive for Covid-19 are actually most contagious in the few days before they develop symptoms, according to Dr. Gupta, adding that this is what is different about this particular virus.
As contact tracing gets underway at the highest levels of US government, Dr. Gupta says “we’re getting a look at what should have been happening in the country all along — this level of contact tracing, quarantining. If we would be doing this, it could have helped to curb this pandemic.”
Watch:
Pressed by CNN’s Joe Johns on the timing of when the White House learned Hope Hicks had tested positive, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows conceded that people knew of her positive diagnosis before Marine One took off for New Jersey on Thursday afternoon for a fundraiser.
Some staffers, he said, were pulled from Marine One, raising further questions about why the trip proceeded, the President coming into contact with numerous supporters at his Bedminster club.
“I’m not going to get into the tick tock. I can tell you, in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as the Marine One was taking off yesterday,” Meadows said. “We actually pulled some of the people that have been traveling and in close contact. The reason why it was reported out, just frankly, is that we had already started to contact tracing just prior to that event,” he said.
Multiple senior staffers told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins they did not learn of Hicks’ diagnosis until Thursday night, shortly before it was reported by Bloomberg News.
Meadows claimed that the White House acted quickly to inform the public of the President’s diagnosis.
“As you know, last night, even in the early hours of this morning, the minute we got a confirmatory test on the President, we felt like it was important to get the news out there at that time, and so that’s why we sent out a tweet late, late or early this morning,” he said.
Meadows said the White House has “protocols in place” to mitigate risks and make it easier for people to social distance, but regardless, the virus is still contagious.
“I can tell you that what we’re doing is focusing on the therapeutics, the vaccines, continuing to do that, and that doesn’t change,” Meadows added.
Meadows declined to say whether President Trump, who tested positive for coronavirus, is taking hydroxychloroquine, a treatment he repeatedly touted despite questionable benefits. Trump, he reiterated, has “mild symptoms.
“Well, I’m not going to get into any particular treatment that he may or may not have but he has mild symptoms as we look at that the doctor will continue to provide expertise in the residence. He’s in the residence now, and in a true fashion he’s probably critiquing the way that I’m answering these questions,” Meadows said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he recently wrapped a phone call with President Trump and that he is in “good spirits,” adding that the pair “talked business.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar deflected pointed questions about the safety of President Trump holding rallies during the Covid-19 pandemic during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on Friday.
Rep. Maxine Waters asked Azar if he thought if the President’s rallies “contributed to the increase” of Covid-19 cases?
Azar didn’t answer the question. Instead he said:
Waters followed up, saying that rallies where the audience is not wearing masks or socially distanced “certainly adds to the increase the possibility of these infections – is that correct?
Azar once again, “our advice has always been the same, the three Ws.”
Waters asked if Azar had “ever interacted with the President about him being a possible role model in this country?”
“I’m not going to discuss my discussions with the President,” Azar responded.
Waters asked Azar to name areas of the country that were seeing an increase in cases, and he named a handful of states in the Midwest and West. When asked to give specifics about the numbers, Azar said those were available at https://www.coronavirus.gov/.
Joe Biden has received his coronavirus test, and they are waiting on the results to determine whether or not he will still travel to Michigan today as planned, a source familiar tells CNN.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is speaking to the press now from the White House about President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
He said the doctors continue to monitor the President and first lady’s health.
Meadows added that Trump is “staying committed to working very hard on behalf of the American people”
“We have a president that is not only on the job, will remain on the job, and I’m optimistic that he’ll have a very quick and speedy recovery,” Meadows added.
People who test positive for Covid-19 are actually most contagious in the few days before they develop symptoms, according to CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, as President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and adviser Hope Hicks all tested positive for the virus.
“If this is the point where he started to develop symptoms, it probably meant that you were doing most of … what they call the viral shedding in the couple three days before that. OK, so today is Friday, symptoms Thursday, so now you’re going back to Tuesday or Monday in terms of contagiousness. It also makes a difference on the back side in terms of when someone might be cleared from isolation,” he said.
Contact tracers would focus on that earlier time frame, Gupta explains.
President Trump has “mild symptoms” from the coronavirus, a White House official told CNN.
A spokeswoman for Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and President Trump’s lawyer, said he will be getting tested for Covid-19 today.
“In the meantime he has begun the quarantine process,” said spokeswoman Christianné Allen.
She confirmed Giuliani is currently in New York and quarantining there.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow declined to make any generalizations on the economic impact of the President’s coronavirus diagnosis, but said there was continuity of government and President Donald Trump sounds “good.”
Kudlow said he received a negative test Friday morning.
“I myself personally tested this morning negatively, I’ve been tested every day,” he said.
“We’re all praying for the first family,” he added.
The administration sees “no need to shut down again,” he later added, noting that coronavirus stimulus talks would “probably” continue Friday.
After President Trump tested positive for Covid-19, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN she hopes that this will be a “lesson learned” by the rest of the country “that you have to wear your mask.”
“That is not what the White House was engaged in. Now, hopefully they will send a different message to the country or even if they don’t, that it will be a lesson learned by the rest of the country,” she added.
Pelosi said she was also tested this morning out of an abundance of caution since she had meetings with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also announced that he tested negative this morning. Pelosi is still awaiting results.
Watch:
Several White House officials who have been in close contact with the President in recent days are working from home today, a White House official tells CNN.
The official would not provide a list of officials, but said as contact tracing is being conducted, those with the most exposure to the President are being advised to work from home.
President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere.
He added that Barrett, who is tested daily, is following CDC guidance and was last with the President on Saturday when she was officially nominated.
Pat Cipollone has also tested negative for coronavirus, a senior administration official told CNN. This official said that everyone from the White House who has been in close contact with Barrett yesterday has tested negative.
When asked for reaction on President Trump’s Coronavirus diagnosis and whether people are freaking out inside, the official said: “No. This is the Trump White House,” noting it’s just another busy day per usual and they are staying calm.
Barrett was also on Capitol Hill this week meeting with GOP senators.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien just emailed his staff about the coronavirus outbreak in the West Wing, per an email viewed by CNN. He said some events may be canceled but the office remains open.
“While we do not believe anyone else without symptoms needs to self-quarantine at this time, it is on all of us to continue to exercise the smart judgment and practices the campaign has long encouraged: wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, check in via the LiveSafe app on a daily basis and work from home if you’re not feeling well.”
“While some public events will be taken down, the campaign office remains open and our nation-wide team will continue with our efforts to re-elect President Trump,” he added.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is urging those who attended a Trump fundraiser last night to take “full precautions,” in a tweet he posted Friday morning.
Murphy urges people to self-quarantine and get tested following the event with President Trump Thursday evening in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The governor also added in a statement that the state has started contact tracing.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he wishes “the President and the first lady and every American fighting Covid-19 a swift and complete recovery.”
Azar is speaking before the a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing.
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, who was in the audience for Tuesday’s presidential debate, says he was tested for coronavirus this morning and the test came back negative.
He wished the President and the first lady a swift recovery.
A campaign aide says Sen. Kamala Harris was tested yesterday for Covid-19 “as part of the campaign’s routine testing of principals, and tested negative.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden will also be tested today, according to a source familiar with his plans.
The White House is doing contact tracing on people who have been in touch with President Trump and Hope Hicks, a White House official tells CNN.
The official added that aides are looking at ways for Trump to speak today although there is no final decision as of this moment.
This person also noted that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is currently on the road overseas, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and HHS Secretary Alex Azar have all been tested. CNN has reported that Mnuchin and Azar both tested negative this morning.
Jill Biden will also be tested for coronavirus today, a source familiar with the plans confirms. The former second lady wore a mask as she sat in the front row at the debate Tuesday night and later joined her husband on stage while wearing her mask.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to get tested this morning, according to a source familiar with his plans.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has been tested for coronavirus this morning and is awaiting results.
In an interview on MSNBC, Pelosi said she spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier this morning who informed her he tested negative. The two met in person earlier this week to discuss stimulus legislation, after Mnuchin met with President Trump.
Asked about Trump’s diagnosis Pelosi said, “we all receive that news with great sadness.”
She said she hasn’t been contacted by White House about the line of succession.
“Let us just all pray for the President’s health,” Pelosi said. “Thank God the Vice President has tested negatively, and the Second Lady as well.”
Pelosi indicated she hopes this moment will spur people to be more serious about wearing masks, social distancing, and other measures to stop the spread of the virus.
“I do think it is really important for people to know that every infection is a sad one,” Pelosi said of the Americans who have contracted the virus.
The number of deaths, she said, is “a tragedy beyond comprehension.”
Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican party, has also tested positive for coronavirus, an official confirms.
This was first reported by the New York Times.
Here’s what RNC spokesperson Mike Reed said in a statement:
The 14-year-old son of Melania and Donald Trump has tested negative for coronavirus, according to Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s chief of staff.
“Barron has tested negative and all precautions are being taken to ensure he’s kept safe and healthy,” Grisham tells CNN.
Here’s a timeline of President Trump’s days before he tested positive for Covid-19.
Monday, September 28: At the White House
3:40 p.m. ET: Trump appears in the Rose Garden to hail a new testing strategy for coronavirus. “I say it all the time, we are rounding the corner,” Trump said during the event. Many officials were at the event, socially distanced from the President, including Vice President Mike Pence, health adviser Scott Atlas, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and HHS official Admiral Brett Giroir.
Later in the day, Trump participated in debate prep sessions, according to people familiar with the matter. Those who were present in the room during the sessions included former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, presidential adviser Hope Hicks, and former presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway.
Tuesday, September 29: Presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio
2:30 p.m. ET: The President boards Air Force One alongside the first lady headed for Cleveland. Aboard Air Force One were members of his family and advisers.
4:22 p.m. ET: Trump did a walkthrough of the debate stage without wearing a mask.
9 p.m. ET: Trump’s family arrives in the debate hall without wearing masks, though some photographed themselves wearing masks backstage and posted them to social media.
Wednesday, September 30: Visit to Minnesota
3:05 p.m. ET: Trump departs for Minnesota. Aboard Air Force One were US Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber and Jim Hagedorn; Hicks, Stephen Miller, Kushner, Dan Scavino and Mark Meadows.
10:20 p.m. ET: Trump departs Duluth on Air Force One. On the way home, officials said Hicks began displaying symptoms and isolated in a separate cabin. She is seen deplaning from the rear steps.
Thursday, October 1: Fundraisers and testing
Time unknown: Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus. Some White House staffers who were in close proximity were notified of the positive test result, one official said.
2:33 p.m. ET: Trump arrived at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for a fundraiser. It’s not known who attended.
8:15 p.m. ET: In remarks recorded earlier in the day, Trump addresses the annual Al Smith dinner, which was convened virtually this year because of coronavirus. “I just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country,” Trump said.
8:40 p.m. ET: CNN reports Hicks tested positive for coronavirus.
12:54 a.m. ET: Trump tweets, “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”
1:05 a.m. ET: The White House releases a memo from the presidential physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, saying Trump and the first lady tested positive.
Watch more about Trump’s timeline:
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to correct the time Trump tweeted about his positive Covid-19 test.
As employees across the White House complex processed the news that President Trump, the first lady, and one of the President’s top aides tested positive for Covid-19, different offices were receiving different instructions on how to proceed.
One White House official said White House staff were instructed to “max telework.”
Vice President Mike Pence’s team have reinstated teleworking as the White House medical team does testing and tracing, the official says. If they don’t require a classified setting to do their work, they can stay home, the guidance said.
But across the street from the West Wing, many national security officials were still awaiting any guidance.
National Security Council staff, some of whom spend time in the West Wing and work in close proximity with the President and his inner circle, had not received any guidance or recommendations on whether or not to get tested or self-quarantine as of 9 a.m. ET Friday, according to one administration official.
Staff learned of the diagnosis through tweets and the media, but have received no internal notices about it, even from the public health standpoint.
“We’re all sitting around wondering, ‘ok, now what?’” the official told CNN.
Both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner tested negative for coronavirus on Friday morning, a White House official tells CNN.
The US military has not changed any alert levels following the president testing positive for coronavirus, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told CNN.
“There has been no change to our alert levels. The US military stands ready to defend our country and its citizens. There is no change to the readiness and capability of our armed forces,” the spokesman said.
President Trump’s most senior military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, last saw Trump on Sunday night at a Gold Star Mothers event, according to an administration official. The source noted this is likely outside incubation period.
Milley is regularly tested and follows all CDC protocols and guidelines.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris wished the President and first lady a speedy recovery.
In a tweet, she said her and her husband were keeping the first couple in their thoughts.
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said he will get tested for coronavirus this morning after flying on Air Force One earlier this week.
During an interview on Fox and Friends, Jordan said he only spent “a brief amount of time” with President Trump and he feels well.
“I feel great. I had a great workout yesterday. I feel fine,” Jordan said.
He said he will attend a hearing today virtually from his office instead of going in person
“The President will beat it,” Jordan said. “He’s a healthy guy.”
Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon sent an all staff email message asking staffers to refrain from posting about the situation on social media.
He said the campaign staff continues to take “every precaution to protect” the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, their spouses and the staff.
The full email, obtained by a source who received it, is below:
Neither the Trump campaign nor the White House contacted the Biden campaign to alert them of possible exposure, according to a senior campaign official who was with Biden at the debate.
The official adds that they do not believe they have much risk because “we were never near them.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not know that Hope Hicks had tested positive for coronavirus when she held a press briefing Thursday, a senior administration official tells CNN.
As CNN reported, a small group was aware Thursday morning about Hicks’s diagnosis.
President Trump appeared tired over the course of Thursday prior to testing positive for coronavirus, according to people who interacted with him. However, he was not displaying severe symptoms of the disease.
A senior administration official said Friday that Trump wasn’t showing major symptoms and planned to work from the White House residence.
A person who yesterday attended his fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey, said he seemed subdued when speaking to a roundtable event and later to a group of supporters gathered outside.
The person said the assumption among the attendees was that Trump was exhausted from recent campaign travel.
Other people who interacted with Trump said his voice sounded hoarse, though the assumption before he tested positive was that it was because of his recent rallies.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is testifying before Capitol Hill today, tested negative for coronavirus this morning.
He tweeted his negative diagnosis and well wishes for the President earlier:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reacted to President Trump and the first lady testing positive for coronavirus, asking the American public to “continue to pray” for the Trumps.
Following President Trump’s positive test for coronavirus, CNN’s Jim Acosta reports that senior White House official Johnny McEntee passed him this morning outside the White House’s West Wing.
McEntee said he was on his way to get a Covid-19 test and was not wearing a mask.
Following President Trump’s positive coronavirus test, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wished President Trump “a swift recovery.”
Biden is expected to get tested for coronavirus this morning, according to a source familiar with his plans. Trump and Biden shared the debate stage Tuesday night during the first presidential debate.
The US economy added 661,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was a smaller jobs bump than economists were expecting.
The unemployment rate fell to 7.9% – down from 8.4% in August, and also lower than Wall Street’s forecast of 8.2%.
This is the highest the unemployment rate has been ahead of a presidential election since the government started tracking the monthly rate in 1948.
The report is the last look at the labor market before the presidential election in November. The October jobs report will be published on the Friday following the election.
The pandemic has ravaged America’s previously strong job market and more than 22 million jobs vanished in the spring lockdown. If President Trump loses the election, he could become the first President on record — going back to President Harry Truman — to leave the White House with fewer jobs than when he started.
Comparing presidents’ jobs records in the first 44 months in office over the same time period, Trump comes last.
Wall Street will be watching health care stocks closely Friday as the need for a coronavirus vaccine becomes even more pressing. Shares of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and Moderna were all lower in early trading along with the broader market.
Watch:
A person who attended President Trump’s closed fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday says there were two events: a roundtable and speech delivered to a larger crowd.
The roundtable occurred indoors at a socially-distanced table. Guests did not wear masks, but the person said the attendees were tested ahead of time.
A separate, larger event was held outdoors, with the President speaking from behind a podium set in front of the club’s main doors. Most guests at that event also did not wear masks.
It’s not clear if only the roundtable guests were tested or whether all guests, including those who only attended the outdoor portion, received tests.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wished the President and first lady a speedy recovery and urged everyone to wear a mask, according to a statement.
“This virus doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, a Republican or a Democrat, young or old. No one is immune. Not even the president,” Whitmer’s statement said.
“Here’s the good news. We can beat this enemy – but it’s going to take every single one of us working together to do it. Right now the most effective weapon we have is pretty simple: it’s wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth. It’s washing your hands with soap and water. And maintaining six feet of physical distance from one another.”
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus, the President announced early Friday morning, an extraordinary development coming months into a global pandemic and in the final stretch of his reelection campaign.
The diagnosis amounts to the most serious known health threat to a sitting American president in decades. At 74 years old, Trump falls into the highest risk category for serious complications from the disease, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and more than 1 million people worldwide.
His infection with the disease could prove destabilizing in an already fraught political climate, and stock market futures tumbled on news of Trump’s infection.
Trump was last seen in public on Thursday afternoon returning to the White House after a fundraising trip to New Jersey. He did not appear ill, though did not speak to reporters as he walked into his residence.
If you’re just reading in now, here’s what you need to know:
US stock futures plunged after Trump tweeted that both he and the first lady tested positive for the coronavirus, an extraordinary development that threatens to plunge his reelection campaign into disarray and raises questions over the leadership of the world’s biggest economy.
Global markets were also roiled by the news.
Dow futures were down 370 points, or 1.3%, after falling more than 450 points just after Trump tweeted his condition.
S&P 500 futures were down 1.3% and Nasdaq futures were down 1.6%.
The last US jobs report before the November election posts Friday morning. What it reveals could have ramifications both for the presidential race and stimulus talks, which on Thursday appeared to be at an impasse.
As the President begins quarantining in the White House, investors have more questions than answers. The VIX, which tracks expectations of US stock market volatility, jumped 8% Friday as traders digested the news.
For more on what investors want to know, read the full article here.
Frank Fahrenkopf, the head of the Commission on Presidential Debates, declined to comment when asked on Friday about the future of presidential and vice presidential debates after President Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
“No comment right now,” he said.
Fahrenkopf also declined to comment on questions about precautions taken at the first debate between Trump and Joe Biden.
These are the next scheduled debates:
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for coronavirus Friday morning, according to a statement tweeted by spokesperson Devin O’Malley.
He said the vice president is in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery:
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped President Trump with presidential debate prep, said he had tested negative for coronavirus on Tuesday morning, adding that he will be tested again this morning.
He did not witness Trump or Hope Hicks suffering from any coronavirus symptoms while he was with them, Christie noted.
Christie added that he feels fine, and does not have any symptoms at this time.
WATCH:
Staff at the White House Executive Residence are feeling “nervous” about news of the President and Melania Trump testing positive for Covid-19, a source tells CNN, adding residence staff are “very careful, but there is concern.” The first couple is currently in isolation inside the White House residence.
The residence is staffed by approximately 90 workers, including six butlers and eight ushers, multiple cooks, housekeepers, florists and other maintenance and support workers.
In March, CNN reported Melania Trump had reduced the size of the staff to only essential workers, sending the rest home, only coming in on an as-needed basis.
In April, CNN reported she required all of the residence staff to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. The White House has 132 rooms and is 55,000 square feet.
In light of President Trump’s positive test, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is expected to get tested for coronavirus this morning, according to a source familiar with his plans.
Earlier this week, President Trump and Biden shared the debate stage during the first presidential debate. The candidates did not shake hands with each other and did not shake hands with the moderator. Biden nor Trump wore masks on stage.
According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, everyone attending the debate at Case Western Reserve University, would undergo testing for Covid-19 and follow other health safety protocols.
Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, says that President Trump having coronavirus also sparks national security concerns.
“You have key agents that are responsible for protecting him that now likely have to also go into quarantine. So you have new shifts of agents coming in. … There’s going to be an extensive contact tracing effort, and this isn’t just a contact tracing effort for anyone. It’s a contact tracing effort for the commander in chief,” Taylor said on CNN’s “New Day.”
Taylor said that while he was in the DHS, there were trainings to prepare for situations where leadership might be affected from doing their jobs.
Taylor said that while he wishes the President a speedy recovery, “we have to consider the possibility that this may affect, again, his ability to carry out the duties of his office. That’s a big concern. It’s something that this White House wasn’t preparing for, in my view.”
Taylor said officials also need to keep an eye on foreign actors looking to capitalize on this moment.
“Senior national security officials are watching to make sure that our foreign adversaries don’t find a way to exploit this health crisis that’s reached the highest levels of the US government,” he added.
Watch:
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued the following statement on the news that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19.
“Along with millions of others, we extend our prayers and best wishes to the President and First Lady during this time for a speedy recovery and for their good health,” he said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director-general, wished President Trump and first lady Melania Trump a “full and speedy recovery” on Friday.
Trump tweeted early Friday that he and the first lady tested positive for Covid-19 and will begin to quarantine immediately.
In May, Trump announced the decision to withdraw the United States from WHO. The withdrawal, which goes into effect July 6, 2021, has drawn criticism from some bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy groups and allies abroad.
Given President Trump’s age and his pre-existing conditions, he’s going to be at increased risk after he tested positive for Covid-19. However, the odds are in his favor, CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said.
Trump has several risk factors for more severe Covid-19 symptoms, including his age and body mass index. Men are also more likely to suffer severe illness from coronavirus than women.
Moving forward, the President needs to be in isolation “for probably up to two weeks,” Gupta said.
Some context from Gupta: Isolation is different than quarantine. Isolation is for people who are infected with the virus. They’ve got to be isolated. All the people that he came in contact with, had close contact with — more than 15 minutes, within 6 feet — they need to be quarantined, not just tested. Tests can come back false negative. They need to be quarantined.
Watch Dr. Gupta discuss:
World leaders and politicians are reacting today to the news that President Donald Trump and Melania Trump have coronavirus.
Here’s what some of them are saying:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who contracted Covid-19 in the spring
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Afghanistan’s Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
European Council President Charles Michel
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
The Kremlin
President Trump announced early Friday he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19.
His announcement came just hours after news that Hope Hicks, one of the President’s closest aides, also tested positive. Hicks had traveled with Trump multiple times recently and was seen this week with several other of the President’s aides — none of whom wore masks.
“This is very concerning,” says Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA. “The number of people that could potentially be exposed and at risk of contracting this virus is significant here.”
There are many questions going forward — including who else may have been exposed to the virus and what the President and the first lady will need to do now.
Here’s what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says should happen when someone tests positive for the virus or is exposed to an infected individual:
US lawmakers, state governors and national leaders tweeted their well-wishes to President Trump and Melania Trump following their diagnosis of coronavirus.
Here’s what they said:
Arizona Sen. Martha McSally
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
Michigan Rep. Justin Amash
Rev. Jesse Jackson
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the press pool traveling with him in Dubrovnik that he and his wife tested negative for coronavirus on Friday morning.
He said he has not been with President Trump since the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House on Sept. 15, adding he’s been traveling for the majority of the past 17 days.
Asked if he was still planning on traveling this weekend, Pompeo said “we’re going to evaluate” whether it is appropriate to travel to Florida on Saturday and then to Asia on Sunday. He said “we’ll spend the next few hours” consulting with medical experts on the issue, adding that his doctor in Washington and the State Department medical team had already told him it would be “perfectly fine” for him to make the trips.
“You know, we take a lot of precautions,” Pompeo said when asked if he would be taking extra protective measures in light of the news. He said there would be extra contact tracing in place for people who had been to the White House.
Asked if he would get any additional briefings since he is fourth in the presidential line of succession, he replied, “I don’t think so,” adding that he already has had access to “just about everything” in his role.
Pompeo said no one he is traveling with is currently experiencing coronavirus symptoms and that the medical team has cleared the group to make their planned stop in Croatia.
He said he would provide a further update to pool reporters on board the plane once he completes his planned stop in Croatia.
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted Friday that he was praying for President Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s “swift recovery.”
“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,” Pence tweeted.
Pence was not in close contact with Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest aides, top aide to the VP claims, citing how he’s been on the road mostly this week. Hicks tested positive for the infection.
However, CNN’s Betsy Klein noted that Pence is on camera saying he was in the Oval Office with the President on Tuesday.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent President Trump a telegram to wish him and first lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery after they tested positive for Covid-19.
Global markets and US stock futures were roiled on Friday by news that President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus.
Dow futures were last down 370 points, or 1.3%, after falling more than 450 points just after Trump tweeted his condition. S&P 500 futures were down 1.3% and Nasdaq futures were down 1.6%.
Stocks in Asia Pacific also slid on the news. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.7%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.4%. Other markets in the region, including those in Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea, are closed for public holidays. European stocks opened lower, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.7% in London, while France’s CAC 40 shed 1% and Germany’s DAX declined 1.1%.
Oil futures also tumbled. US crude futures fell 2.8% to $37.62 per barrel, while Brent, the world oil benchmark, lost 2.8% to hit $39.79 per barrel. Both had settled lower on Thursday.
US stock futures were already trending lower earlier as the fate of a massive US stimulus plan remained uncertain, and as news broke that top Trump aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus.
Watch:
CNN’s Charles Riley, Anneken Tappe and Jazmin Goodwin contributed to this report.
President Trump had said late Thursday night that he planned to quarantine after one of his closest aides tested positive for the infection.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19,” Trump tweeted Thursday night.
Hicks has traveled with the President multiple times recently, including to the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, and was seen boarding Marine One, along with several other of the President’s closest aides — Jared Kushner, Dan Scavino and Nicholas Luna — none of whom wore masks, on Wednesday as Trump was heading to a campaign rally in Minnesota.
“She did test positive, I just heard about this. She tested positive. She’s a hard worker. Lot of masks, she wears masks a lot but she tested positive. Then I just went out with a test. I’ll see — you know, because we spent a lot of time – and the first lady just went out with a test also. So whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don’t know,” Trump said during a call-in appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
He added, “I just went for a test and we’ll see what happens, I mean, who knows. … I spent a lot of time with Hope and so does the first lady, and she’s tremendous.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines state that a 14-day quarantine should take place after the last known exposure to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. This is because the incubation period for the novel coronavirus can be up to two weeks.
News of Hicks’ positive test comes amid continued efforts by the Trump administration to blatantly disregard science and best public health practices during the pandemic, with West Wing staff actively eschewing masks and the President defying recommendations from his own coronavirus task force, proceeding with a busy schedule of packed campaign ralies. Trump and his key aides have shown little interest in changing practices of his staff to meet the needs of the moment.
Trump, in his Fox News interview, speculated that Hicks could have contracted the virus from an interaction with a supporter.
“She’s a very warm person. She has a hard time, when soldiers and law enforcement comes up to her, you know, she wants to treat them great, not say, ‘Stay away, I can’t get near you.’ It’s a very, very tough disease,” he said.
A source close to Hicks told CNN that she is experiencing symptoms and is back in Washington. A source familiar with Hicks’ symptoms describes her as being achy and feeling pretty bad. CNN has reached out to Hicks for comment.
The White House made no mention of Hicks by name, nor did it confirm she had tested positive.
“White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling,” Deere added.
Some White House staffers who were in close proximity were notified of the positive test result today, one official said.
Former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden needs to be tested for Covid-19 after having been on the same stage as President Trump on Tuesday night for the first presidential debate in Cleveland, said CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Trump has not revealed any symptoms yet, and a White House statement said he and first lady Melania Trump are “both well.”
But “as you well know, going back to (top aide) Hope Hicks, you can be contagious or more contagious before you develop some of the symptoms — the pre-symptomatic period,” Gupta warned.
Biden and Trump both attended the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, though they stayed on different sides of the stage at their own podiums. Biden may have been standing far enough from Trump to avoid infection — but “if you are indoors, you could think of the virus like smoke,” Gupta said. It’s not clear if the two men interacted backstage or behind cameras.
As the nation reacts to the news of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s coronavirus diagnoses, some are also raising questions about the administration’s handling of the situation after top Trump aide Hope Hicks confirmed that she had tested positive.
A small group of White House officials knew by Thursday morning that Hicks had contracted Covid-19, according to CNN Correspondent Kaitlan Collins — but Trump still took a trip to New Jersey for a fundraiser, and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany still held a news briefing at the White House on Thursday.
McEnany didn’t wear a mask at the briefing, and made no mention of Hicks’ diagnosis to reporters in the room, Collins said.
“So the question is going to be for the White House, why did the President still go to New Jersey, knowing that he could potentially put these people at risk, these donors and fund raisers? And of course, why did the press secretary still hold a briefing despite knowing she had come into contact with somebody who had just tested positive for coronavirus?” Collins said.
In a memo issued to reporters around 1 a.m. ET, President Trump’s physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, wrote he received confirmation of the positive tests on Thursday evening.
“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.
