Despite two known exposures to people who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, President Trump's doctor said he would not be quarantined or tested for COVID-19.

"These interactions would be categorized as LOW risk for transmission per CDC guidelines, and as such, there is no indication for home quarantine at this time," White House physician Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley wrote in a memo released late Friday.

Meanwhile, lawmakers who've been potentially exposed to COVID-19 recently announced they would self-quarantine.

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Despite two publicly known potential exposures to COVID-19, White House physician Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley said late Friday that there was no need for the president to be quarantined or even tested for the novel coronavirus.


"The President's exposure to the first individual was extremely limited (photograph, handshake), and though he spent more time in proximity to the second case, all interactions occurred before any symptom consent," Conley wrote in a memo released Friday night.The first individual Fabio Wajngarten , the press secretary of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Three days after Bolsonaro took the photo with the president at Mar-a-Lago, he began showing symptoms for the virus and eventually tested positive for it, the president's doctor said.

The second individual was Nestor Forster, Brazil's chargé d'affaires ambassador, who also last week tested positive for the virus. Forster was "symptom-free" until Friday morning before ultimately testing positive for the virus, Conley wrote. Forster ate dinner at the same table as the American president last week at Mar-a-Lago, CNN reported.


"These interactions would be categorized as LOW risk for transmission per CDC guidelines, and as such, there is no indication for home quarantine at this time," the president's physician wrote."Additionally, given the President himself remains without symptoms, testing for COVID-19 is not currently indicated."

At 73 years old, Trump's age puts him at higher risk for the more serious impacts of the virus, including death. As Business Insider previously reported, data from other countries that have had outbreaks of COVID-19 show that risks become more serious in older age demographics. About 4.3% of people between 70-79 in South Korea who contracted the virus died, according to data from the South Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Lawmakers who have come into contact with individuals who have later contracted COVID-19, including Sen. Ted Cruz, and Reps. Doug Collins, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gosar have decided to self-quarantine after their potential exposures to the virus at CPAC .On Friday, Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, told ABC News ' Cecilia Vega, he would let the president's physician decide if Trump should be tested for the virus after his potential exposure, though admitted he himself would probably get tested if found in a similar circumstance.

"Likely I would, but I'm not sure," he said. "It depends on the circumstances. We should follow the guidelines of the CDC about when you are at a risk what you should do."

While as health officials have encouraged the practice of social distancing, Trump at a press conference Friday where he declared a national state of emergency over COVID-19 shook hands with several CEOs, and said he and his staff would not self-isolate because they have "no symptoms whatsoever."


The CDC recommends that anyone with potential exposure to the virus who begins showing symptoms should call their healthcare provider to determine whether they should be tested. The US had received criticism for the rollout of tests for COVID-19, which included faulty tests sent to states at the beginning of February.

Tom Frieden, the former director of the CDC told Business Insider he believed an "independent assessment" was needed to determine the cause of the issues with testing in the US.

As of Friday, fewer than 17,000 COVID-19 tests had been administered in the US. In South Korea, which has one-sixth of the population of the US, more than 248,000 tests have been administered, Business Insider previously reported.


"We'll have the ability to do in the millions over a very, very quick period of time," the president told reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon.

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