Trumps says he got tested for Covid-19, awaits results as US death toll reaches 50

President Donald Trump has confirmed during a Saturday news conference that he has been tested for the coronavirus, but does not have the results yet.

“Whatever it takes. A day or two days. Whatever it is. They send it to a lab,” Trump said about the tests. 

READ MORE: US to suspend all travel to UK & Ireland from Monday night over coronavirus

Trump’s test follows the release of a statement from White House physician Sean P. Conley on Friday saying the president was at “low risk” of contracting the disease, despite interacting with two people who have become confirmed cases.

“I will do it anyway,” the president told reporters on Friday, after being asked about his interaction with Brazilian Press Secretary Fabio Wajngarten's and an aide, who have tested positive for the coronavirus, at a delegation at Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump said he taken the test "based on the press conference" on Friday where he was asked multiple times about whether he was concerned about contracting coronavirus arising from the delegation at which he'd interacted with the two now-confirmed cases.

The president said on Friday he was "not concerned" over his risk of contracting the disease and the interactions were minimal.

“We did nothing very unusual. We sat next to each other for a period of time and had a great conversation,” he said.

Speaking after Trump, Vice President Mike Pence revealed he has not been tested for Covid-19, but he and his wife will be meeting with the White House physician's office on Saturday afternoon, and they're both "happy to be tested." 

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who was also at the delegation, said he has tested negative for the coronavirus, despite local media initially reporting otherwise.

There are currently around 2200 cases of the virus within the US and 50 deaths from it, according to Saturday's press conference.

Trump declared the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic a "national emergency" on Friday in order to "unleash the full power of the federal government." He asked states to set up emergency operation centers and hospitals to put emergency preparation plans into motion. The president said on Saturday he also expects to soon be signing a bill freeing up $50 billion in funding to combat the disease, which already passed through the House, very soon.

Mike Pence added that more updates in regards to the federal government's response to the coronavirus will be revealed after a "progress report" is put together by the national task force on Sunday. He said the task force is working with private institutions to set up testing sites at locations like CVS in communities that need testing the most.

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