President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, 32 days before voters in the United States will head to the polls.
President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, 32 days before voters in the United States will head to the polls.
President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, 32 days before voters in the US will head to the polls.
Mr Trump was tested after adviser Hope Hicks tested positive earlier in the day.
He tweeted to say he would begin quarantining with first lady Melania Trump immediately.
Just hours later, he confirmed the result.
“Tonight, (Melania) and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Mr Trump said in a tweet.
“We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately.
“We will get through this TOGETHER!”
Ms Trump also tweeted to say they had postponed upcoming engagements, were feeling good and counselled the general public to stay safe.
It comes just days after a fiery presidential debate in which Mr Trump said he had “no problem with masks” but was criticised for holding mass rallies during the pandemic.
"I wear masks when needed,” he said.
“When needed, I wear masks.
"I don't wear masks like (opponent Joe Biden).
“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."
White House physician Sean Conley said the president and first lady were both well.
“Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering,” Dr Conley said.
Other world leaders have previously contracted COVID-19 and recovered, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Data shows the US is 12th in the world measured by COVID-19 deaths per million people, at a rate of 635, behind the UK, Belgium and Spain, among others.
In August, US media outlet NPR reported the US had a better case fatality rate of 3.3 per cent.
That was 24th among nations with more than 50,000 cases, NPR said.