New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novel coronavirus “on consecutive days”, said Sean Conley, Physician to the US President to Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
“In response to your inquiry regarding the President’s most recent COVID-19 tests, I can share with you that he has tested NEGATIVE, on consecutive days, using the Abbott BinzaxNow antigen card,” wrote Conley.
He added, “It is important to note that this test was not used in isolation for the determination of the President’s negative status. Repeatedly negative antigen tests, taken in context with additional clinical and laboratory data including viral load, RNA and PCR cycle threshold measurements as well as ongoing assessment of viral culture data indicate a lack of detectable viral replication.”
The memorandum further stated that the “comprehensive data” in “concert with” the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for removal of transmission based precautions have informed the medical team that “The President is not infectious to others.”
Last week, Trump had returned to the White House after departing from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was admitted for treatment of COVID-19.
Earlier, the president had declared he was now immune” from the virus, a claim that was impossible to prove and comes amid a series of outstanding questions about the president’s health.
“I’m immune,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. The president is in very good shape to fight the battles.”