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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Trump says he’s likely to be tested for novel coronavirus after repeat exposure

President Donald Trump, accompanied by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, right, speaks during a news conference about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden at the White House, Friday, March 13, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, right, speaks during a news conference about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden at the White House, Friday, March 13, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump, accompanied by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, right, speaks during a news conference about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden at the White House, Friday, March 13, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said Friday he will “most likely” be tested for the novel coronavirus, as questions swirled about why he, his top aides and his family weren’t doing more to protect themselves and others after repeated exposure to COVID-19.

Trump has now had multiple direct and indirect contacts with people who have tested positive for the pandemic virus, which on Friday prompted him to declare a state of emergency as schools and workplaces across the country shuttered, flights were canceled and Americans braced for war against the threat.

Trump spent time last weekend at his private club in Florida with at least three people who have now tested positive. The Brazilian Embassy in Washington announced late Friday that the country’s chargé d’affaires, Nestor Forster, tested positive after sitting at Trump’s dinner table. So, too, have a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and an individual who attended a fundraiser Sunday with Trump, according to two Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private health matters.

Several top administration officials, including Attorney General William Barr and Trump’s daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, also met last week with an Australian Cabinet minister who on Friday was confirmed positive.