Trump tests negative for coronavirus: White House physician
Washington: US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, the White House physician said, hours after his administration declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on Friday.
Trump, 73, had taken the coronavirus test on Friday night. The results came out in less than 24 hours.
"Last night, after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding the COVID-19 test, he elected to proceed. This evening, I received confirmation that the test is negative," Dr Sean Conley, the presidential physician, said in a memorandum to White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham on Saturday.
"One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free," he said.
"I have been in the daily contact with the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the White House Task Force, and we are encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure reduction and transmission mitigation," Conley added.
Trump had resisted being tested for the virus that has killed at least 51 Americans and infected over 2,500 others.
The deadly novel coronavirus has claimed over 5,300 lives and infected more than 142,000 people across 135 countries and territories, with the World Health Organisation describing the outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday.
As part of the precautionary measure to stop the deadly disease from spreading, doctors are advising people to avoid shaking hands.
Trump considered to be a germophobic and not a good supporter of shaking hands over the past few days has been seen shaking hands with people.
"Why are you shaking hands, sir? a reporter asked Trump during a White House news conference Saturday afternoon.
President Trump defended his habit of shaking hands, saying this is a cultural habit that is tough to be done away with.
"Because it almost becomes a habit, and you get out of that habit. And, frankly, I was a non-hand-shaker, for the most part. I've never believed that shaking hands - once you become a politician. And I notice it too: Political people walk up to me, they want to shake my hand. I said, 'Well, you know'," he explained.
"People come up to me, they shake hands, they put their hand out. It's sort of a natural reflex, and we're all getting out of it. All of us have that problem. Somebody comes up to you, they put their hand out -- you probably tend to just shake it. And we're all getting out of that," he said.
"Shaking hands is not a great thing to be doing right now, I agree. But people put their hand out. Sometimes I'll put the hand out. You don't think about it. People are thinking about it more and more. We have to think about it; it's important," he said, referring to the age old cultural practice which is tough to die down.
"Getting away from shaking hands is a good thing, and possibly that's something that comes out of this. Maybe people shouldn't be shaking hands for the long term because it does transmit flu and other things, Trump said.
The World Health Organisation has advised people to stay at least three feet away from someone who is sick or potentially contagious. The US Centre for Disease Control or CDC recommends maintaining a six feet distance.
France is now discouraging cheek-kissing and shaking hands has been suspended in Germany.
Early this week, Trump used the traditional Indian greeting of namaste' when he met the Ireland Prime Minister in the Oval Office of the White House.
Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas earlier this week on Instagram urged people to use 'namaste' to greet others in the current times.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
