Trump and wife Melania test positive for COVID-19

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, he said in a tweet early on Friday.

Libby Hogan reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19.

In a tweet he said, "we will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately." This after Hope Hicks, a top adviser to Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.

Hicks had traveled regularly with the president on Air Force One and just this Tuesday, she accompanied the president along with other senior aides for the presidential debate in Ohio 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.

He and his staff regularly do not wear masks and have been holding rallies with thousands of people, despite warnings from public health professionals against having events with large crowds, in the run up to the November 3rd election.

Trump, who for months downplayed the severity of the virus, has come under sharp criticism for his response to the pandemic, which has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States alone.