“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”

Those were the exact words President Donald Trump tweeted at 11:54 PM on October 1, 2020. The diagnosis could not have come at a worse time for the President with the election only a month away and the next presidential debate against former Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to be held on October 15 in Miami.

Fortunately, Joe Biden, who was physically present on the same stage as Trump in Cleveland on September 29 for the first presidential debate, tested negative for COVID-19 according to his primary care physician. Biden’s wife Jill has also tested negative, according to NBC News.

“Upcoming in-person campaign events involving Trump are now being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed,” the president’s re-election campaign manager Bill Stepien said, who has also tested positive for the virus.

Events involving Trump’s family are also being postponed to prevent the spread of the disease to the rest of his family. Currently, Barron Trump, the Trumps’ youngest child, has tested negative for the virus and all precautions are being taken to ensure he’s kept safe and healthy.

Upcoming in-person campaign events involving Trump are now being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed[/pullquote]At 74 years old, Trump is the oldest US president to ever take office, placing him at a higher risk for complications. So while his wife continued to recover from the comfort of the White House, Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the early evening hours of October 2nd, less than 24 hours after he tweeted the news of his COVID-19 diagnosis. 

However, he was said to be feeling well despite displaying some mild symptoms according to CBS News and his physician Dr. Sean Conley. He did not transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence and continued to hold office from within the confines of the hospital from Friday night up until his release back to the White House on the evening of Monday, Oct. 5. 

As to where the President contracted the virus, the Rose Garden ceremony last month commemorating Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has been eyed as a “super spreader” event according to Fox News. The majority of people in attendance did not wear masks and some could even be seen shaking hands and hugging one another. Among those in attendance who have tested positive for COVID-19 so far include former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins, Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and three journalists.

As of right now, the Vice Presidential Debate and the second Presidential Debate are still set to take place on their designated days, October 7 and 15 respectively. However, if Trump’s symptoms worsen anytime before then, the debate could be thrown into turmoil.

Until then, we can only hope for a speedy and efficient recovery for President Trump.