- President Donald Trump has taken few personal precautions as coronavirus continues to spread across the US.
- Trump, who is 73, in recent days has been in the vicinity of three people who were confirmed to have coronavirus and several people who interacted with infected individuals.
- The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic.
- After repeated questions about his level of exposure, Trump on Saturday announced he had been tested for the novel coronavirus. On Sunday, the White House said the test was negative.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump has sought to paint a rosy picture for the country as the coronavirus outbreak spreads, downplaying its potential impact and routinely contradicting top government experts.
And he’s exhibited little to no personal caution as public health officials warn that the worst is yet to come with the outbreak. At 73, Trump is at higher risk for getting a more serious form of novel coronavirus and his job involves lots of meetings and air travel. The CDC has advised Americans over 60 to stock up on foods and medications; the most serious cases seem to be for seniors 80 years and older.
There have been several instances in which Trump may have risked exposing himself to coronavirus, which he was tested for Saturday after days of questions about this exposure. Here’s a rundown.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was tested for coronavirus. He was with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort over the weekend. The two shook hands and sat side-by-side at dinner. Bolsonaro’s press secretary has tested positive for coronavirus.
Source: Insider
Bolsonaro's coronavirus test came back negative, though some reports initially suggested he tested positive. The Brazilian president announced the test was negative via social media on Friday, but Brazil's Estado de S. Paulo newspaper subsequently reported he would be retested.
Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro's press secretary, has tested positive for the coronavirus. He was photographed standing next to Trump, but Insider did not attain rights to use that image.
The White House is aware that a member of the Brazilian delegation had tested positive for the coronavirus. "Both the President and Vice President had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time," White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement on Thursday.
A week after that visit, on March 14, Trump disclosed that he had been tested for coronavirus.
At least three people who were around Trump at Mar-a-Lago on March 7 and 8 have tested positive for coronavirus. In addition to Bolsonaro's communication's chief, the Brazilian Embassy in Washington on Friday night announced its charge d'affairs, Nestor Forster, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Forster was with Trump and Bolsonaro at dinner.
Source: Twitter
Another person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus was present at a Sunday fundraising lunch "hosted by Trump Victory, a committee that raises money for the Trump campaign and the Republican Party." Trump was at the lunch.
Source: Insider
At a Friday news conference in which Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, the president said he would "most likely" get tested. Late on Friday, the White House issued a memo from Trump's White House physician, Navy Cmdr. Sean P. Conley, that said the president doesn't need to be tested or quarantined. The memo said that because Trump "remains without symptoms, testing for COVID-19 is not currently indicated."
Source: The Washington Post
Trump on Saturday announced he'd been tested for the novel coronavirus. He was tested on Friday night and said it could take a day or two for the results to come in. Trump's announcement came hours after the White House physician said the president did not need to be tested.
On Sunday, the White House announced Trump tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
Source: Insider
Trump was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland last month. It eventually came to light that a person infected with coronavirus was at the event.
Matt Schlapp, CPAC's chairman, confirmed that he had direct contact with the infected person during the conference and later greeted and shook hands with Trump.
Source: Insider
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz also interacted with the infected person. He was with Trump in Florida last weekend, and joined the president on Air Force One for a flight back to Washington.
Gaetz said Trump was not "hyper cautious about being in the same space" as him on Air Force One.
Source: Insider
Gaetz, who was accused of making light of coronavirus by wearing a gas mask on the House floor during a vote on emergency funding, was tested for the virus and it came back negative. Gaetz on Tuesday said he's continuing to self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution.
Gaetz self-quarantined on the Air Force One flight, and spent the night in his car outside of a Walmart to avoid potentially infecting other people as he drove back to Florida. "I slept in a Walmart parking lot somewhere off [Interstate] 85," Gaetz said.
Source: Insider
Rep. Doug Collins, who was with Trump during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta on March 6, also interacted with the infected person at CPAC and has gone into self-quarantine.
Trump has refused to stop shaking hands, even as Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the government's response to coronavirus, opts to bump elbows instead. The CDC has recommended people clean their hands often.
Source: Insider
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, has recommended that people avoid large crowds. But Trump on March 6 said he has no plans to stop holding rallies due to coronavirus, though there are none currently scheduled.
The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic on Wednesday. As of Saturday, March 14, more than 145,000 people have been infected and over 5,400 have died.
Source: Insider