Trump refuses coronavirus test even after dining with Brazilian leader Bolsonaro who has tested positive
Just days after meeting and dining with President Donald Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local reports state. Trump dined with the Brazilian leader at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night and even shook his hands at the event.
Amid rising speculations whether Trump will self-quarantine after Bolsonaro's diagnosis, the president announced that he would hold a press conference at 3 pm on Friday at the White House on the pandemic.
The 64-year-old Brazilian leader was tested for the disease after his aide Fabio Wajngarten tested positive for the viral infection. Reports state that a second test has also been conducted on the Brazilian president to confirm the diagnosis and the results are expected to be known on Friday, according to the Daily Mail. The plane, which transported the Brazilian delegation to America, is also reported to be contaminated.
Trump, on Thursday, had brushed off rising concerns about his encounter with the Brazilian leaders when asked about a possible spread of the virus to him.
Both Bolsonaro and Wajngarten, his press secretary, were at Trump's 'Winter White House' on Saturday night. The latter also had his picture taken with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The president and his family have reportedly resisted going into self-quarantine despite other lawmakers, who came into contact with those testing positive for the virus, going into voluntary isolation. According to the recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a cornavirus test is advisable if you "have been in close contact with a person known to have" the virus.
Leaders across the world are also self-quarantining as preventive measures, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose wife Sophie was tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. Trudeau is reportedly in voluntary 14-day quarantine.
Report states that several members of the first family were at the Saturday night's event in Mar-a-Lago, where the Brazilian delegation also dined with the president.