US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novelcoronavirus for a second time and is “healthy” and not displaying anysymptoms for the deadly disease, the White House physician has said.
Sean Conley, Trump’s physician, did not provide any contextfor the second test. The doctor, however, said the president had been tested bya new rapid-point-of-care test that delivered results in 15 minutes.
“The President tested negative for COVID-19,”Conley, said on Thursday in a memorandum to the White House Press SecretaryStephanie Grisham.
“This morning, the President was tested again forCOVID-19, utilising a new, rapid-point-of-care test capability. He is healthyand without symptoms. Sample collection took just one minute and results werereported back in 15 minutes,” Conley said.
President Trump flashed a copy of his physician’s memorandumto his press secretary during his daily White House news conference.
“I did take a test. It just came out, this is from theWhite House physician,” Trump said at the briefing while holding up thememo.
“You may have it, just came out. I just took it thismorning. And I took it, it took me literally a minute to take it and it took me– I guess it was 14 or 15 minutes (for results). I went to work, I didn’t waitfor it, but it said it took 14 minutes or something with a conclusion and itsaid the President tested negative for COVID-19,” he was quoted as sayingby the US media.
Trump added that he had taken the test “really out ofcuriosity to see how quickly it worked, how fast it worked.”
“It’s a lot easier. I’ve done them both and the secondone is much more pleasant,” he said of his second test.
The president previously tested negative for the virus inmid-March after coming into contact with two persons who had tested positive.
Trump’s second test comes as more than a million coronaviruscases have been confirmed worldwide and States across the US continue to handdown strict measures to slow down the spread of the COVID-19.
America wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic that theWhite House has warned could kill up to two lakh people during the nextfortnight.
A total of 1,002,159 COVID-19 cases have been reportedacross more than 175 countries and territories with51,485 deaths reported sofar, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The US has reported 236,339 COVID-19 cases, the highest inthe world, and over 5,000 people have died due to the disease.
President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the US washeaded for a “very tough two weeks”, advising people to be preparedfor the “hard days” ahead.
Deborah Bix, a member of White House Task Force oncoronavirus, based on a model from actual data from the ground, said the deathtoll in the US could be between 100,000 to 200,000, with the strictimplementation of the existing mitigation measures including social distancingtill April 30.