Trump health: US President has NOT been tested for coronavirus, White House confirms

Fears had grown that the US President might have caught the deadly virus, after coming into contact with Republican lawmakers, known to have been in close proximity with an infected person. Congressmen Doug Collins and Matt Gaetz attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month. During the conference, both Republicans came into close contact with a conference attendee, who has recently been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Both are now self-quarantining, although they have not yet reported having any symptoms.

Mr Trump has been in prolonged close contact with both men in recent days, sparking fears that he could be at risk of developing the disease.

The US President spent time with Mr Gaetz on Air Force One, while Mr Collins greeted the President with a handshake when he touched down in Georgia on Friday, before accompanying him on a tour of the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that Mr Trump has not been tested “because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed Covid-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms.”

She added: “President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him.

“Per current CDC guidelines, medical professionals should base testing decisions on patient symptoms and exposure history.”

The US has currently around 600 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 23 people have so far died.

However, the size of the contagion could be much bigger, according to the Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

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His comments led to a market rally, after a calamitous day on Wall Street had seen the Dow Jones plunge by more than 2,000 points.

Contracts on the S&P 500 advanced 2.3 percent as of 11:20 am (JST) in Tokyo, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 Index rose 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The President said the details would be revealed on Tuesday and that they would be “dramatic”.

He told reporters that he’d be discussing with Republicans in Congress “a possible payroll tax cut, or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief. It’s a big number.

“We’re also going to talk about hourly wage earners’ getting help so they can be in a position where they’re not ever going to miss a pay check.”

The White House would also look at securing loans for small businesses, as well as look at ways to support airlines and cruise lines, which have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic.