-- Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19, after a close aide contracted the virus.
-- There have been more than 7.2 million COVID-19 infections in the United States as of early Friday, with nearly 210,000 deaths.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- In an early Friday morning announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and his wife, Melania Trump, have tested positive for COVID-19.
The news came as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the country, infecting more than 7.2 million people and claiming nearly 210,000 lives, both figures the highest in the world, according to tallies by Johns Hopkins University.
Many U.S. states are also seeing an uptick in new cases as the country is further reopening despite a high baseline of daily infections.
Trump, in a tweet, said that he and his wife have tested positive for the virus. "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," he wrote. "We will get through this TOGETHER!"
Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2020 shows screens displaying U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. first lady Melania Trump arriving on stage for the 2020 Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
The announcement came just hours after the president confirmed that White House counselor Hope Hicks, a close aide, had contracted COVID-19. Hicks had traveled with him multiple times this week, including on board the presidential helicopter Marine One for a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, as well as on Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
Melania tweeted she and her husband are quarantining at home "as too many Americans have done this year."
"We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements," she said. "Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together."
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted early Friday morning that he and his wife send their prayers to Trump and Melania. "We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery," he added.
File photo taken on March 29, 2018 shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with outgoing White House Communications Director Hope Hicks on the West Wing Colonnade before departing from the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. Hope Hicks returned to the White House as a counselor to the president in early 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
In a memo, White House physician Sean Conley said he received confirmation on Thursday evening that the couple had tested positive for the virus.
"The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," Conley noted. "Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments."
Trump told Fox News on Thursday night that he and the first lady had spent "a lot of time" with Hicks, while acknowledging that it was difficult for him and those close to him to avoid the virus since many people, including members of the military, interact with them.
"It's very hard when you're with soldiers, when you are with airmen, when you're with the Marines and the police officers. I'm with them so much. And when they come over to you, it's hard to say, 'stay back, stay back.' You know, it's a tough kind of a situation. It's a terrible thing," he said.
The White House regularly tests Trump and Pence for COVID-19 and administers tests to those who come in close contact with them, including members of the press and other White House guests.
In addition to Trump, the first lady, Hicks, multiple White House officials, including the president's national security advisor Robert O'Brien and Pence's communications director Katie Miller, as well as other staffers, have previously tested positive for the virus.
"Wishing a swift recovery to President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and the 43,000+ people who tested positive for #COVID19 today," former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy tweeted. "Too many have suffered and lost their lives due to this virus. I hope we will come together at last to build a unified response to the pandemic."
Photo taken on Aug. 10, 2020 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
The fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are expected to be "probably one of the most difficult times that we experience in American public health," said Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a webinar in July.
It's projected that the coronavirus will incur more than 410,000 deaths by the end of the year, according to a recent report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. If current trends linger, daily deaths could soar to 3,000 in December, it said.
(Video reporters: Deng Xianlai, Sun Ding, Hu Yousong, Tan Yixiao; Video editor: Jia Xiaotong)■
