Published 05:31 IST, May 8th 2020
Trump to be tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis after one of his valets tests positive
Trump said he will be tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis after a naval officer serving as a member of the US President's personal valets tested positive.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday, May 7 said he will be tested daily for coronavirus infection after a naval officer who serves as one of the members of his personal valets tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump, while speaking to reporters during an Oval Office meeting with the governor of Texas, said that he will now be tested daily moving on from his previous routine of weekly tests. Both President Trump and vice-president Mike Pence have since tested negative for COVID-19, according to the White House.
According to reports, the daily testing would also apply to the vice-president Mike Pence and certain high-level White House officials. Trump told reporters that he was not in direct contact with the US Navy officer who tested positive.
The White House had announced the news of one of Trump's personal valets testing positive for coronavirus earlier on Thursday, May 7 but said that the president remains in good health.
Coronavirus in the US
The United States is currently the worst affected country in the world with nearly half the total confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded globally. The US on April 28 became the first country in the world to record a million confirmed coronavirus cases. The country has recorded more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases so far, of which over 76,000 people have lost their lives.
The virus outbreak, that started in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December 2019, spread across continents in a matter of two months, forcing the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare it a pandemic on March 11.
The Trump administration has been critical of the WHO over its handling of the initial outbreak in China. The US President on April 15 announced that the United States would halt WHO's funding for this year while he accused the global health agency of siding with Beijing amid the pandemic and not pressuring the Communist state enough to share vital information with the international community.
(Image Credit: AP)
Updated 05:31 IST, May 8th 2020