Trump, wife test positive for COVID-19

WASHINGTON－United States President Donald Trump and his wife Melania were preparing to enter quarantine as their COVID-19 tests came back positive on Friday.

A White House official said that Trump was experiencing mild symptoms but was working from the White House residence.

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," Trump wrote on social media. "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

The announcement came hours after the president confirmed that White House counselor Hope Hicks had contracted the virus. Hicks traveled with Trump multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

White House physician Sean Conley said he expected the president to carry out his duties "without disruption" while he recovers.

"The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," Conley wrote earlier in a memo released to reporters.

Trump canceled plans to attend a fundraiser and fly to Florida for a rally on Friday, but he did keep on his schedule a previously planned midday telephone call "on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors".

Vice President Mike Pence wished the couple a swift recovery. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday he was reconsidering his upcoming trip to Asia.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent a message on Friday to Trump and the US first lady.

"My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery," he wrote on social media.

US stock futures and Asian shares fell on Friday after Trump's announcement of the couple's positive result. Futures contracts for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials both dipped by several percent. Oil prices also slipped.

"To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement," Rabobank, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company, said in a commentary. "Anyway, everything now takes a back seat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign."

As of Friday, the US had recorded a world-leading tally of over 7.29 million confirmed cases with more than 207,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Xinhua - Agencies