Trump tests negative for coronavirus

President Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus, according to a statement Saturday from the White House.

“Last night after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed,” Sean Conley, the physician to the president, wrote in a memo released by the White House. “This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative.”

President Trump, 73, had previously been in contact with at least one official who tested positive for coronavirus following a dinner party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last weekend.

That official, Fábio Wajngarten, is the press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and was photographed at the event alongside Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Brazil’s government announced on Thursday that Wajngarten had tested positive for the virus.

“One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free,” said Conley. “I have been in daily contact with the CDC and White House Coronavirus Task Force, and we are encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure reduction and transmission mitigation.”

The announcement followed days of questions about the president’s potential exposure to coronoavirus and came just hours after he surprised reporters by revealing that he had in fact been tested.