President Donald Trump says he has taken a test to determine if he has the coronavirus.
“I also took the test,” Trump said in the White House briefing room Saturday afternoon. “I decided I should based on the press conference yesterday people were asking that I take the test.”
Hours after publicly saying he would take such a test, the results were in.
“Last night after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed,” Sean P. Conley, Trump’s physician, said in a news release Saturday evening.
“This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative.”
In the White House briefing room earlier Saturday, Trump told reporters that his temperature was taken before the press conference and it was “totally normal.”
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Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said Trump has had multiple contacts with people who have tested positive for coronavirus, The Associated Press reported. The news comes as Deere announced Friday that the White House will conduct temperature checks on anyone who was in close contact with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“Out of an abundance of caution, temperature checks are now being performed on any individuals who are in close contact with the President and Vice President,” Deere said.
Last weekend, Trump spent time at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida, with at least three people who have now tested positive for coronavirus. NBC News reported of those people were Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and his press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten.
Conley initially wrote in a memo released late Friday night that Trump would not need to be tested for the virus because his interactions with those who tested positive were "before any symptom onset."
"These interactions would be categorized as LOW risk for transmission per CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, and as such, there is no indication for home quarantine at this time," Conley wrote, NBC News reported.
“Additionally, given the President himself is without symptoms, testing for COVID-19 is not currently indicated,” Conley wrote.
It’s not clear what led to the decision to test Trump after it was reported he was initially hesitant to do so, CNN reported.
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