US President Donald Trump announced early today that he and his wife both tested positive for the coronavirus, in the final stretch of his reelection campaign in which he has ignored experts' guidance on preventing the disease's spread.
"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump tweeted.
Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide. The White House had earlier announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week.
They "are both well at this time and they plan to remain home at the White House during their convalesence," the president's physician doctor Sean Conley said in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Nrendra Modi was among a host of world leaders wishing the Trumps a speedy recovery.
After announcing the President's diagnosis, the White House issued a new schedule to reflect several cancelled events, including a fundraiser in Washington and a campaign rally in Florida. The diagnosis is set to adversely affect his campaign, given that Trump has frequently sought to paint a rosy picture of the current situation, including just hours before he announced his diagnosis.
He has disregarded medical recommendations from his own coronavirus task force during the pandemic, proceeding with a busy schedule of packed campaign rallies, which are now on hold. The second debate against Democratic candidate Joe Biden will also likely be delayed.