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Trump’s Covid contact: Who he met and who’s tested positive

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Media captionPresident Trump’s seven days before his Covid-positive test

President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis has come after a busy week running his administration and campaigning ahead of the 3 November election, a time in which he has interacted with many high-level officials.

The president announced positive test results for himself and his wife, Melania, in a tweet on Friday, at around 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

This followed a positive diagnosis for his close aide, Hope Hicks, who reportedly started feeling symptoms on Wednesday and tested positive the next day.

Since the president’s diagnosis, several people close to his administration have tested positive, including his campaign manager.

It takes five days on average from the moment a person is infected for symptoms to start showing, but it can be much longer, so the World Health Organization advises a 14-day isolation period.

The peak infectious period for the virus is the day before symptoms appear and the two days after, although a large proportion of people never show any symptoms at all.

The White House says it has begun contact-tracing. Here is a look at some of the people we know Mr Trump has crossed paths with in the last week.

Saturday, 26 September: The Supreme Court pick

President Trump announced his Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, in front of a crowd of about 200 people on the White House lawn.

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President Trump with Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House ceremony

On Saturday evening, President Trump held a rally at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

Since the afternoon’s ceremony, Judge Coney Barrett has held meetings with various senators – including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – ahead of her much-anticipated confirmation hearing, which is due to take place on 12 October.

Judge Coney Barrett said on Friday that she had tested negative. Sources told US media she had the virus earlier this year.

Several people who attended the Rose Garden event for her announcement said on Friday they had tested positive.

They include former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway and Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who are both on the judiciary committee, and the president of the University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins. It is unknown when they caught it.

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People who tested positive after attending Saturday’s ceremony, circled from left to right: Senator Mike Lee, University of Notre Dame president John Jenkins, Melania Trump and President Donald Trump

Sunday, 27 September: Golf and a veterans’ event

The president played golf at his club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, on Sunday morning and led a White House reception for the families of military veterans in the evening.

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Mr Trumps also gave an address from the White House briefing room on 27 September

Monday, 28 September: The Covid briefing

On Monday, President Trump held a news briefing – giving an update on his administration’s coronavirus testing strategy – in the White House Rose Garden.

It was attended by Vice-President Mike Pence, Health Secretary Alex Azar, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and the chief executive of Abbott Laboratories, Robert Ford, among others.

Also on Monday, Trump viewed a model of a new pickup truck – being built at a factory in Ohio – on the White House lawn. Representatives from the company, Lordstown Motors, attended, as well as two members of Congress.

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Mr Trump and Mr Pence held the virus briefing in the White House Rose Garden

The White House regularly tests officials who come in contact with the president. However, US media has noted that mask-wearing and social distancing around him is less common, suggesting that people may be too reliant on the testing system, which is not foolproof.

Tuesday, 29 September: Debate day

The president faced his election rival, Joe Biden, at their first face-to-face debate in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday evening.

President Trump flew there on his presidential plane, Air Force One, alongside his wife, adult children and multiple aides. Many were seen not wearing masks when boarding or disembarking, according to US media reports.

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White House interns cheer President Trump as he departed for the debate in Ohio on Tuesday

Also on the plane were: White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows; campaign strategist Jason Miller; policy adviser Stephen Miller; Robert C O’Brien, the national security adviser who tested positive for the virus in July; and Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan.

After landing, the president’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, was spotted getting into a staff van with Ms Hicks, the New York Times reports. Late on Friday, it was announced that Mr Stepien had tested positive for Covid-19 and was experiencing mild flu-like symptoms.

The debate was held at Cleveland Clinic’s Health Education Campus, a shared facility with Case Western Reserve University.

The organisers, the Commission on Presidential Debates, brought in numerous Covid-era safety precautions. There were no handshakes between the two candidates and everyone attending – including the 80 or so audience members – was tested before the event and asked to wear masks throughout.

In the run-up, Mr Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, posted a picture of herself backstage in a mask, alongside her sister Tiffany, sister-in-law Lara and stepmother Melania.

However, during the event itself, Ivanka Trump and other family members, including siblings Don Jr and Eric, were pictured mask-less. Moderator Chris Wallace has since told Fox News that they were offered masks by event staff but they waved them away.

Don Jr told Fox News on Friday he had tested negative.

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The Trump children watched the debate without masks, Melania Trump wore hers as she sat down but then removed it

Observers said those on Mr Biden’s side of the room kept their masks on.

Mr Trump and Mr Biden kept a distance during the debate, at podiums on opposite sides of the stage.

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Mr Trump and Mr Biden loudly spoke over each other throughout the contentious debate

When the candidates were greeted by the wives on stage afterwards, Jill Biden wore a mask and Melania Trump didn’t.

At a separate campaign event in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Vice-President Mike Pence said he had been in the Oval Office with President Trump earlier that day. It is thought to be their last in-person meeting. On Friday, Mr Pence said he and his wife Karen Pence had tested negative, as have Mr and Mrs Biden.

President Trump and much of his entourage flew back to Washington DC on Tuesday night.

Wednesday, 30 September: A fundraiser and a rally

The day after the debate, President Trump was straight back into campaign business, flying to Minnesota. Ms Hicks was among those accompanying him.

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Top Trump officials, including Hope Hicks (right), travelled with Mr Trump to Minnesota

He attended a closed-door fundraiser at a private home in Minneapolis, and he later held a large rally in at an airport in Duluth, in front of a crowd of thousands. Few wore masks but there was distance between them and the president.

Minnesota Congressman Kurt Daudt tweeted a picture of himself close to Mr Trump, with neither wearing masks.

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The president speaks to supporters after landing in Minneapolis

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The president’s rally at Duluth airport

On Wednesday evening, Mr Trump and various aides returned to Washington DC on Air Force One again.

Ms Hicks, who was feeling unwell, was isolated in a separate cabin, according to US media. She reportedly disembarked from the back of the plane, instead of the front alongside the other passengers.

Thursday, 1 October: More fundraising

President Trump flew to his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey for a private fundraiser.

Several aides who were in proximity to Ms Hicks scrapped their plans to accompany the president, according to the Associated Press.

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, who is thought to have been in close contact with Ms Hicks, held a briefing for reporters at the White House on Thursday, without mentioning her colleague’s test and without wearing a mask. She has since said she did not know about the diagnosis.

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Mr Trump took Air Force One to New Jersey

That night, in pre-taped remarks to the annual Al Smith dinner in New York City, held virtually this year, Mr Trump said that “the end of the pandemic is in sight”.

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Media caption“The end of the pandemic is in sight,” President Trump told a dinner on Thursday

He later announced in an evening interview on Fox News that he and the first lady were being tested for the virus.

Though it is not known how many of his supporters he came into contact with in recent days, he told Fox presenter Sean Hannity that people were always wanting to get close to him. “They want to hug you, and they want to kiss you,” he said.

Friday, 2 October: The announcement

President Trump announced that he and Mrs Trump had tested positive around 01:00 on Friday in a tweet, adding that they will begin the “quarantine and recovery process immediately”.

Just before 11:00, his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told reporters the president has “mild symptoms” but remains in “good spirits”.

Mrs Trump tweeted to say she also had mild symptoms.

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Media captionThe president has “mild symptoms” but will “remain on the job”, says White House chief of staff Mark Meadows

Test results

So far, the vast majority of released test results have been negative. No-one can be sure who caught the virus first among these leading US political figures and their relatives, or who passed it to whom, or where they caught it.

A negative test usually means a person does not have Covid-19.

However, test accuracy can vary depending on when a sample is taken during the course of the illness, and one taken very soon after exposure may not give an accurate result.

Thursday

Hope Hicks, president’s adviser – positive

Friday

Donald Trump, president – positive

Melania Trump, first lady – positive

Former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway – positive

Joe Biden, presidential candidate – negative

Jill Biden, wife of Joe Biden – negative

Mike Pence, vice-president – negative

Karen Pence, second lady – negative

Kamala Harris, vice-presidential candidate – negative

Doug Emhoff, husband of Kamala Harris – negative

Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court nominee – negative

Mike Lee, Utah senator on judiciary committee – positive

Thom Tillis, North Carolina senator on judiciary committee – positive

Mike Pompeo, secretary of state – negative

Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary – negative

Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services – negative

William Barr, attorney general – negative

Ivanka Trump, president’s daughter – negative

Jared Kushner, president’s son-in-law – negative

Donald Trump Jr – negative

Bill Stepien, president’s campaign manager – positive

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