US President Trump tests negative for coronavirus

Washington: US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the president's personal physician, Sean Conley said.

“Last night, after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed. This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative,” Conley said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday night.

Conley noted that Trump “remains symptom-free” one week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, CNBC reported.

“I have been in daily contact with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and White House Coronavirus Task Force, and we are encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure reduction and transmission mitigation,” said the White House physician.

At a White House press briefing earlier in the day, Trump confirmed that he had taken a test for the coronavirus and was awaiting results.

He said he had decided he would do so after a press conference Friday, in which he was pressed on whether he would take a test.

“I didn't say I wasn't going to be tested,” Trump pushed back.

Out of “an abundance of caution,” the White House has also begun checking the temperatures of anyone in close contact with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said Saturday.

The United States reported 2,726 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday night with at least 54 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. (UNI)