Published 11:27 IST, October 2nd 2020

Coronavirus 'affects virtually nobody': Trump told crowd days before testing positive

Days before testing positive for COVID, US Prez Donald Trump had downplayed the risks of the disease and had said that the virus ‘affects virtually nobody'.

World News
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Days before testing positive for coronavirus, US President Donald Trump had downplayed the risks of the disease and had said that the virus ‘affects virtually nobody’. While speaking at a rally in Ohio, on September 28, Trump had implied that shutting down businesses was not necessary and had said, “We now know the disease. We didn’t know it”. The US President has repeatedly downplayed the pandemic even though America is the worst-hit country across the globe.

Trump, on Monday, said, “Now we know it. It affects elderly people. Elderly people with heart problems and other problems. But they have other problems, that's what it really effects, that's it,” he continued. "You know in some states, thousands of people [are infected] — nobody young," he said, which is incorrect. "Below the age of 18, like nobody. They have a strong immune system, who knows”.

"But it affects virtually nobody. It's an amazing thing," Trump said.

READ: TRUMPS COVID POSITIVE: US President Donald Trump & First Lady Melania Test Covid Positive

READ: Melania Trump Praises Care At Detention Centers In Tape

Trump tests COVID positive

Unfortunately, days after his statement, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on October 2 after one of the President's close aide got infected with the virus. Taking to Twitter, the President said that he will begin his 'quarantine and recovery process immediately' with his wife. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus.

“The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. “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 guidelines and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible, both on complex and when the president is travelling.”