President Trump tested negative for the
coronavirus, his doctor said in a memo
released Saturday evening. The
president’s health had been a concern
since he spent time at his Florida resort
last weekend with a Brazilian official who
was later found to have the illness.“One week after having dinner with the
Brazilian delegation at Mar-a-Lago, the
president remains symptom-free,” said Dr.
Sean P. Conley, Mr. Trump’s doctor, in
that memo.
At a news conference earlier Saturday,
Mr. Trump announced that he had been
tested for the coronavirus on Friday night
and was awaiting the results. Vice
President Mike Pence also announced the
extension of the administration’s
European travel ban to the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
Whether the president would be tested
had been a matter of speculation since it
first emerged that a member of a Brazilian
delegation that visited Mar-a-Lago had
tested positive. Two other people who
were with the president at Mar-a-Lago
have tested positive, and various members
of Congress have been self-isolating after
interacting with some of those same
people.
Mr. Trump, wearing a “USA” baseball cap,
said he decided to be tested for the
coronavirus after his news conference on
Friday, during which he declared a
national emergency.
“People were asking, did I take the test,”
he said.
Asked when he expected to have the
result, Mr. Trump said, “A day, two days.”
“They send it to a lab,” he said.
It was unclear if Mr. Pence, who
interacted with some of the infected Mar-
a-Lago visitors, had known that the
president was tested. Asked about his
own status, Mr. Pence said, “I’m going to
speak immediately after this news
conference with the White House
physician’s office,” which he said had
previously advised him that neither he
nor his wife needed to be tested.
The White House has begun checking the
temperatures of anyone in close contact
with Mr. Trump or Mr. Pence. White
House staff checked the temperatures of
everyone arriving at the news conference.
The virus has infected more than 154,800
people in at least 126 countries.
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