Trump, First Lady Test Positive for COVID-19. Here’s What We Know

President Donald Trump announced early Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes just four weeks before Election Day and after a week full of campaign events.

As the leader of a nation that’s seen over 7 million coronavirus cases and more than 200,000 deaths, Trump is now facing the very threat he largely downplayed for the past six months, including on the presidential debate stage just three days ago.

Here’s what we know so far:

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How Did Trump Get the Virus?

It’s not yet clear exactly how the president and first lady got the coronavirus.

However, the first couple were tested Thursday after a top White House aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks began to feel symptomatic while flying back from a campaign event with the president and several other Trump administration officials Wednesday night. She quarantined herself on the plane, but she had spent much of the past week with the president.

What Is White House COVID-19 Protocol?

Senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn’t being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it and he initially resisted being tested. He has been reluctant to practice his own administration’s social distancing guidelines for fear of looking weak, including refusing under almost all circumstances to wear a mask in public.

Is the President Symptomatic?

It’s not yet clear. His physician released a statement early Friday morning that said he and the first lady “are both well at this time” and “plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.” The statement did not say whether either have been experiencing symptoms.

COVID-19 symptoms can appear as early as two days and as long as 14 days after an exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people who are infected develop symptoms after about five days, although approximately 20% to 40% who are infected don’t develop any symptoms.

About 80% of deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 have occurred in those 65 or older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At 74 years old, Trump is at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19. In 2018, Trump was diagnosed with a form of heart disease common among men in his age group, according to results of his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, NBC News reports. The president’s physical last year revealed he had a body mass index of 30.4, which would categorize him as obese — thought just barely, according to to the National Institutes of Health. Both are recognized by the CDC as risk factors for developing severe COVID-19.

The most common symptoms of the coronavirus are fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath and fatigue. Other common symptoms include headache, muscle pain, shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell.

Will This Affect Trump’s Work and His Campaign?

Melania Trump tweeted Friday that they have “postponed all upcoming engagements,” but the president plans to continue to work while in quarantine in the White House.

Trump had been scheduled to attend a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and hold a political rally in Sanford, Florida, on Friday evening. But just after 1 a.m., the White House released a revised schedule with only one event: A phone call on “COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.”

Trump’s physician wrote in his memorandum, “Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.”

Has Biden Been Tested?

It’s not clear if former Vice President Joe Biden has been tested since appearing on the debate stage with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. The two 2020 presidential candidates maintained their social distance throughout the debate, but many in Trump’s campaign were not wearing masks.

In August, the Biden campaign announced that he and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris would be tested “on a regular basis to help further protect those around them” and it would announce if either candidate tested positive. The campaign also regularly tests staff.

Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware, has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds because of the virus. Biden also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday night’s debate.

What Happens If Trump Gets Sick and Can’t Perform His Duties as President?

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted “a written declaration to the contrary.”

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would “immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

Has Anyone Else Tested Positive?

The Trump administration has not yet said if anyone else who had close contact with the president or the first lady has tested positive. However, as noted above, neither Trump’s children nor his senior staff wore masks during the debate Tuesday night, and many of them were flying back and forth to various campaign events with the president this past week.

Trump traveled to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey for a private fundraiser on the same day it was announced Hope Hicks tested positive. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrapped plans to accompany Trump, suggesting the White House may have known about Hicks’ positive test and still allowed Trump to travel to New Jersey for the fundraiser.

A spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence said he and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning. Spokesman Devin O’Malley said Pence “remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.”

Officials who have been in close contact with the president this week include: Trump’s children and their spouses, many of whom are in the Trump administration; White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany; Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar; Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro; White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino; Rudy Giuliani; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; as well as several state representatives and other administration staff members.