Trump says first lady tested negative for coronavirus

President Trump said Monday that first lady Melania Trump had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

Trump answered in the affirmative when asked by a reporter at the White House whether the first lady had been tested for COVID-19 and said the test came back negative.

“She’s fine,” Trump told reporters in the White House briefing room Monday evening. “Negative, yes.” 

Melania Trump is among a handful of individuals in the White House who have been tested for the virus.

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested negative for the virus over the weekend, after a staffer in Pence’s office became the first known White House official to test positive. 

Trump also tested negative for coronavirus roughly a week ago, after coming in contact with two individuals at his Mar-a-Lago beach club in Palm Beach, Fla., the weekend prior who had since tested positive for the virus.

The president insisted he got tested because of persistent inquiries from the media about his contact with people who had tested positive; the White House physician said that the president did not need to be tested because his contact with the individuals was limited and he exhibited no symptoms. 

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a White House senior adviser, also tested negative for the virus last week after learning that an Australian official she met with in early March tested positive for COVID-19. She also worked from home for a week out of an abundance of caution, returning to her job at the White House on Friday.

Meanwhile, coronavirus has reached into the halls of Congress, with at least two confirmed cases in the House and one in the Senate after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) revealed he tested positive on Sunday. A growing number of members of Congress have self-quarantined after coming in contact with officials who tested positive.