Donald Trump has said he has been tested for coronavirus and is waiting on the results.
When he addressed the media on Friday, announcing the formal declaration of a national emergency in order to ease tackling the disease, he said it was “likely” he would himself get tested.
On Saturday morning, as he and vice president Mike Pence again briefed the media, journalists entering the White House briefing room were made to undergo a temperature check, as part of a new protocol to protect Mr Trump.
Higher temperatures are an early indicator of flu and coronavirus, and at least one journalist was turned away after it was found their temperature was above the limit deemed safe.
When he spoke to reporters, Mr Trump said he had his temperature checked before entering the room. He also said he had been tested for COVID-19 and that he was waiting on the results.
“I had my temperature taken coming into the room,” he said. “I also took the test last night. And I decided I should based on the press conference last night.”
He then said of how long it would take for the results to be known: “I don’t know. Whatever it takes. A day or two days. They send it to a lab.”
Of his temperature, he added: “It was totally normal. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have been here.”
Mr Trump has had multiple direct and indirect contacts with people who have tested positive for the pandemic virus. On Friday, he declared a state of emergency as schools and workplaces across the country shuttered, flights were cancelled and Americans braced for war against the health threat.
Mr Trump spent time last weekend at his private club in Florida with at least three people who have now tested positive.
The Brazilian Embassy in Washington announced late on Friday that the country’s charge d’affaires, Nestor Forster, had tested positive after sitting at Mr Trump’s dinner table.
So did a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and an individual who attended a fundraiser Sunday with Trump, according to two Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private health matters.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
