Trump and Melania test positive for COVID-19
- US President Donald Trump has said in a tweet that he and his wife Melania have contracted the coronavirus and are entering quarantine.
- Trump’s tweet on Friday came after Hope Hicks, one of his closest advisers, tested positive for the disease, after months of downplaying the severity of a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States.
- The news reverberated through world media and financial markets, raising questions over what will be the effects on next month’s presidential election.However, he also expressed his concerns over those people who might have been exposed to the novel virus in Minnesota when the US president held a rally in Duluth earlier this week.
08:30 GMT – ‘I wear mask when needed’
Trump, who has been criticized for questioning the efficacy of wearing a face covering, produced a mask from his pocket in the first presidential debate on Tuesday and said, “I wear masks when needed. When needed, I wear masks.”
He then ridiculed Biden for wearing them regularly: “I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
08:25 GMT – UK, Russia wish a quick recovery
The Kremlin wished US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Of course, we wish President Trump a swift recovery,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The same auspice came from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had his own brush with death from COVID-19 this year.
“My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus,” Johnson tweeted.
08:16 GMT – ‘An other reminder’: China Daily
The state-run China Daily newspaper said that Trump’s positive test “is yet another reminder that the coronavirus continues to spread, even as Trump has tried desperately to suggest it no longer poses a danger.”
08:08 GMT – Israeli Prime Minister wishes speedy recovery
“Like millions of Israelis, Sara (Netanyahu’s wife) and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery.”
08:00 GMT – Uncertainty spikes in stock market
President Donald Trump’s positive coronavirus test triggered a stock market sell-off and a move into government bonds as uncertainty spiked only a month before the US election.
US stock futures fell more than 1 percent in London, while government bond yields slid as investors assessed the impact of the president’s illness and quarantine for financial markets.
07:49 GMT – EU’s Michel wishes ‘speedy recovery’
European Council President Charles Michel wished Donald and Melania Trump speedy recovery after the U.S. president and his wife tested positive for COVID.
