A Brazilian government official who attended a meeting at Donald Trump’s Florida resort on Saturday and posted a photo of himself standing next to the U.S. president and Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus, Brazil’s presidential office confirmed on Thursday.
However, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Trump and Pence had “almost no interactions” with the senior aide and “do not require being tested at this time.”
“Exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate next steps,” she added. “To reiterate CDC guidelines, there is currently no indication to test patients without symptoms, and only people with prolonged close exposure to confirmed positive cases should self-quarantine.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Fabio Wajngarten, the press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, accompanied the far-right leader to Mar-a-Lago on Friday for a visit that included dinner with Trump, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
On Sunday, the delegation reportedly met with U.S. military Southern Command senior leaders, who then traveled to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.
On Monday, the delegation met with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) for a meeting at the Hilton Miami Downtown and, while Scott said he didn’t believe he came into contact with Wajngarten, he was in the same room as the Brazilian aide.
President Trump had a working dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Jim Watson/getty“The [Brazilian] Embassy said the person had no symptoms leading up to or the day of the conference,” Scott said in a statement, adding that he would cancel a scheduled press conference on coronavirus testing and instead self-quarantine out of “an abundance of caution.”
Bolsonaro has also been tested for the virus and is awaiting the results.
Wajngarten posted photos and videos from the visit on his Instagram over the weekend. In one photo, he is pictured standing next to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, with the president holding a brown “Make Brazil Great Again” hat. In a video, he filmed Trump speaking to the delegation from a few feet away.
Brazilian media reported that several members of the Brazilian delegation had flu-like symptoms upon returning home and were being monitored.
The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said on Wednesday that Wajngarten was being tested for the flu-like virus. It prompted him to respond on Twitter that he was healthy—although he didn’t deny he’d been tested after returning to Brazil.
On Thursday, the president’s office confirmed that he had in fact contracted the virus, the Associated Press reported. According to the newspaper Estadão, he is awaiting the results of a second test to confirm the diagnosis.
Trump said he “isn’t concerned” about the development, according to a White House pool report on Friday.
The White House said on Monday that Trump has not been tested for the novel coronavirus despite being in contact with multiple lawmakers in self-quarantine.
The following day, the president said he saw no reason to test himself. “I don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said.
