Melania Trump revealed on Wednesday that Barron, her 14-year-old son with the president, had at one point tested positive for the coronavirus, but has subsequently tested negative.
The first lady’s disclosure was in a statement about her own experience with the coronavirus. Donald Trump announced nearly two weeks ago that both he and the first lady had tested positive.
In the statement on Wednesday, the first lady said: “To our great relief he [at first] tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think, ‘What about tomorrow or the next day?’
“My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms.”
Melania Trump described her own experience with coronavirus as like “a rollercoaster of symptoms in the days after” she was diagnosed.
After his diagnosis, the president was admitted to Walter Reed national military medical center for treatment, and has since returned to the White House and to the campaign trail. The first lady quarantined at the White House.
President Trump was widely criticized for returning to the White House when still contagious, potentially putting staff at risk. He is behind rival Joe Biden in the polls in the run-up to next month’s presidential election.
On Sunday, Trump claimed he was now “immune” to the virus. On Tuesday the White House physician said Trump had tested negative for Covid-19 and was not infectious to others.
The first lady said in her statement that, in one way, she was glad “the three of us went through this at the same time, so we could take care of one another and spend time together”.
She said she hoped to resume her duties as soon as she can. She added: “Along with this good news, I want people to know that I understand just how fortunate my family is to have received the kind of care that we did.”
More than 216,000 people in America have died from Covid-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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