Melania Trump calls Justin Trudeau's wife to wish her 'good health' after coronavirus diagnosis
While practicing social distancing herself, Melania Trump phoned in to check on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, Sophie, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 12.
At the time, Sophie said that she experienced mild symptoms of the virus upon her return from a trip to the United Kingdom, where she had been carrying out speaking engagements. As a result, she and her husband were ordered to go into self-isolation and have been working from home ever since.
"Today, First Lady Melania Trump spoke with Mrs. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau of Canada. First Lady Trump expressed her well wishes for Mrs. Grégoire Trudeau’s good health, following her recovery from COVID-19 last month, and reaffirmed her deep appreciation for the continued cooperation between the United States and Canada to address unprecedented challenges related to the pandemic," according to a readout of the first lady's call with Sophie released by the White House.
During the call, the FLOTUS also stressed on the necessity of keeping the borders between the two neighboring countries open for essential travel and trade.
"Trump conveyed the importance of the two countries’ strong economic ties, noting the recent restriction on cross-border travel related to non-essential travel while keeping the border open to essential workers and $1.7 billion in daily trade in goods. They also noted the immense multilateral repatriation efforts to bring Americans and Canadians home from cruise ships and other places around the globe, and agreed to stay in touch as the two countries work to defeat the pandemic," the statement said.
On March 28, Sophie shared on her Facebook page an update about her health, thanking all the well-wishers for their prayers amid the ongoing health crisis around the world.
"Hello, my dear friends, Canadians, and allies everywhere. I wanted to give you all an update: I am feeling so much better and have received the all-clear from my physician and Ottawa Public Health. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me with their well wishes. And to everyone who is suffering right now, I send you all my love," she wrote in the post.
It also urged people to take the opportunity of social distancing to emotionally connect with each other. "These are challenging times. I know it’s not easy to be alone—we are all social beings, me included! But just because we’re increasing the physical distance between us doesn’t mean we have to do the same emotionally. From social media to a simple phone call, there are so many ways for us to stay connected while we’re apart and actually deepen our relationships. I strongly believe that science AND compassion will get us through this crisis. That means listening and following the health protocols and staying at home for the time being," she said.
On the same day, Justin also confirmed that there has been an improvement in his wife's health. “Sophie is feeling great. My family is doing well, my kids and myself, … we’re all doing well,” he said, adding that he would continue to work from home, Global News reported. “But like I said, we’ve asked people to stay home and work from home as much as possible, not go out if they don’t have to and that certainly is something that we’re doing and encouraging.”