US President Donald Trump shared a table with a Brazilian official that has since tested positive for Covid-19, the White House confirmed, after two others present for the same visit were found to carry the illness.
Trump came into contact with the official during a meeting with a Brazilian delegation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last weekend, Trump’s physician Sean Conley said in a statement published by the White House late on Friday night.
“This evening we learned of another dinner guest, this one sharing the table with the president and White House delegation, who was symptom-free until this morning and has since tested positive,” Conley wrote, adding that the two had spent “more time in close proximity.”
These interactions would be categorized as LOW risk for transmission per CDC guidelines, and as such there is no indication for home quarantine at this time.
While the statement did not identify the official, the Brazilian Embassy confirmed that its ambassador to the US, Nestor Forster, had tested positive earlier on Friday, noting he had placed himself into isolation as a “precautionary measure.”
During the same visit, Trump also came into contact with Brazilian press secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who days later tested positive for the virus. A photo taken at the meeting shows the two standing side-by-side, though the White House said they had “almost no interactions,” with Trump himself also downplaying concerns about his health. Another Brazilian official on the trip, Senator Nelsinho Trad, was also confirmed infected on Friday.
Also on rt.com ‘I’m not concerned’: Trump brushes off fears he got CORONAVIRUS after Bolsonaro’s comms sec he met in Mar-a-Lago tests POSITIVEBecause he has shown no symptoms, Conley said there was no need for Trump to undergo a test, but said he would “continue to closely monitor and care for the president,” and provide updates on any developments.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro recently had his own Covid-19 scare, with rumors flying in local press reports that he had contracted the pathogen, but a test for the virus came up negative, he said on Friday.
Brazil has confirmed just over 150 cases of the coronavirus within its borders, according to tallies released by regional health departments, while the US has so far counted more than 2,100 infected patients, with some 44 fatalities
Also on rt.com Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he tested NEGATIVE for Covid-19 despite reportsLike this story? Share it with a friend!