(Adds update tag.)
By Jeff Mason
Oct 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday
that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for
COVID-19 and would immediately quarantine and begin the
"recovery process."
"We will get through this," Trump tweeted.
Trump's positive test follows news that Hope Hicks, a top
adviser and trusted aide, had tested positive for the new
coronavirus.
Hicks travels regularly with the president on Air Force One
and, along with other senior aides, accompanied him to Ohio for
the presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for a
campaign event on Wednesday.
Trump, who is tested regularly for the virus that causes
COVID-19, has kept up a rigorous travel schedule across the
country in recent weeks, holding rallies with thousands of
people in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election, despite warnings
from public health professionals against having events with
large crowds.
Trump has come under sharp criticism for his response to the
coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in
the United States alone. The president has touted his management
of the crisis.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Eric Beech;
Editing by Peter Cooney, Raju Gopalakrishnan and William
Mallard)