US President Donald Trump has tested negative for COVID-19, his physician said, following concerns over his exposure to a disease that has paralyzed the globe.
Trump agreed to the test after coming in contact with several members of a Brazilian presidential delegation visiting his Florida resort who have since tested positive for the virus.
“This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative,” the US president’s physician Sean Conley said in a Saturday memo.
Photo: AP
Trump, 73, had dismissed concerns over his exposure to the disease, which has killed at least 60 Americans and infected nearly 3,000, with millions working from home and schools shut.
New York City, the most populous in the US, saw its first coronavirus death on Saturday, as store shelves were stripped bare after days of panic buying.
In New Jersey, Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin called for a citywide self-quarantine after 18 cases were confirmed in the township.
“What we are saying is that we are ground zero,” Hameeduddin said.
US Vice President Mike Pence announced further curbs on travel to the US, saying that a ban imposed on European nations over the pandemic would be extended to the UK and Ireland tomorrow.
The restrictions threw airports across the country into disarray, with incoming travelers forced to wait hours for medical screenings before passing through customs.
Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker said the long lines at Chicago’s O’Hare airport were “unacceptable.”
“The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. NOW,” he tweeted.
US Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Chad Wolf said that his office was working with airlines to improve screening times.
Trump advised against non-essential travel and said officials were also considering imposing domestic restrictions.
“If you don’t have to travel, I wouldn’t do it,” Trump said at a White House news conference. “We want this thing to end.”
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 5,800 lives in at least 137 countries.
Repeatedly attacked for sending out mixed signals on the health crisis, the US president raised eyebrows on Friday when, contrary to medical advice, he was seen shaking hands as he gathered his coronavirus response team at the White House.
On Saturday, he blamed habit — “people put their hand out ... you don’t think about it” — but said it would have to change.
“Maybe people shouldn’t be shaking hands for the long term,” said Trump, a self-declared germophobe.
Trump’s virus test came after contact with the Brazilian delegation as well as US lawmakers and political leaders who have gone into self-quarantine over potential infection.
On Saturday, a 30-day US ban took effect on all travel from the EU’s Schengen border-free zone, part of a global clampdown on travel to curtail the virus.
Pence said the ban would include the UK and Ireland as of midnight today.
Both countries had been excluded from the initial ban.
“Americans in the UK or Ireland can come home. Legal [US] residents can come home,” Pence said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS