Donald Trump Jr tests positive for coronavirus

Donald Trump Jr adds to the dozens of people associated with the president who have been infected by the virus. PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - United States President Donald Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, tested positive for coronavirus infection earlier this week and is isolating, according to three people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for Trump Jr said in a statement he is asymptomatic for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Trump Jr adds to the dozens of people associated with the president who have been infected by the virus, including Trump himself.

On Friday, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew Giuliani, who is a White House aide, announced on Twitter he had tested positive. In addition, an aide to Vice-President Mike Pence, Hannah McInnis, tested positive earlier this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Several of Pence's aides have been infected, including his press secretary and chief of staff. Pence himself has not.

Giuliani attended a news conference his father hosted Thursday where he and other Trump-allied lawyers repeated unsubstantiated claims that voter fraud had led to the president's defeat for re-election. One of the lawyers, Jenna Ellis, said Friday on Twitter that she and Rudy Giuliani had tested negative for infection.

The coronavirus pandemic is surging around the country, with new cases regularly topping 150,000 per day since last week. More than 254,000 Americans have died from the virus since February.

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