Trump Has Not Been Tested for Coronavirus, White House Says

File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before departing from the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, March 22, 2019. Photo: Ting Shen / Xinhua

WASHINGTON, March 10 (TASS) — US President Donald Trump has not been tested for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as he has not come into contact with anyone infected with the virus, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham stated on Monday.

“The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms. President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him,” she said.

On Monday, US Vice President Mike Pence has also informed during a press briefing that he has not been tested for the virus.

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The US leader has come into contact with Republican lawmakers after they attended a major conservative conference on February 26-29, where one person was confirmed infected with COVID-19. The organizers of the conference noted that the infected person had not been in close proximity to Trump. However, one of the organizers had contacted both Trump and the infected person.

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In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. According to Chinese authorities, about 80,700 people have been infected with the virus in the country. The death toll has exceeded 3,100, while about 59,900 patients have recovered. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and named the virus COVID-19.

Cases of coronavirus have been reported in over 100 countries, including Russia. The largest outbreaks of COVID-19 outside of China have been detected in South Korea, Iran and Italy. According to WHO, the total amount of people infected has surpassed 110,000 globally, while over 3,800 people have died.