President Donald Trump has tested negative for coronavirus,
the White House has announced.
The news comes just hours after Trump revealed during a
Saturday press briefing at the White House that he took the test on Friday amid
concerns about his exposure to several people who have been infected for the
virus.
"Last night after an in-depth discussion with the
President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed," according to
the statement about the results released by press secretary Stephanie Grisham
with Trump's permission. "One week after having dinner with the Brazilian
delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free. I have been in
daily contact with the CDC and White House Coronavirus Task Force, and we are
encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure
reduction and transmission mitigation."
Trump's decision to take the test comes after he said he was
concerned about his close contact with the press secretary for Brazilian
President Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil's chargé d'affaires in Washington who both
tested positive for coronavirus days after they met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in
Florida.
The US has more than 2,826 confirmed cases, with 58 deaths
from coronavirus.
President Trump has since declared a national state of
emergency to release $50bn (£40bn) to fight the spread of the virus, while the
UK and Ireland have also been added to the already existing European travel
restrictions.
