Brazilian Communication Secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, who attended an official meeting at Donald Trump’s resort in Florida has tested positive for coronavirus.
Wajngarten is awaiting the results of a second confirmation test.
Brazil’s Health Minister, Luiz Mandetta, said Wajngarten would be subjected to further confirmation.
In the photo posted on his Instagram account, Wajngarten is standing next to Trump wearing a “Make Brazil great again” cap.
Vice President Mike Pence was next to Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump’s decision to shut the U.S. borders to travellers from Europe without consulting the continent’s leaders would amount to disobedience, says German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
“The reference in the announcement to the idea that there were failings in Europe indicates that possibly less than objective reasons played a role in this decision.
“The new coronavirus posed a global challenge and required international cooperation and that could not happen if decisions taken were laced with recriminations,” said Maas.
In his reaction, Trump says saving lives in the coronavirus pandemic is more important than the numbers on the stock market, amid sharply sinking indices in New York.
“I don’t want people dying. That’s what I am all about,” Trump said at the White House, calling his move to ban most travel from Europe a “tough decision.”
The president, who has often touted stock market gains since taking office, said those numbers are “not important compared to life and death.”
About the markets, he predicted: “It’s all going to bounce back,” pledging to push ahead with a stimulus programme, even as his Republican Party is pushing back against an aid package proposed by the Democrats.
