US President Donald Trump tests negative for coronavirus, extends travel ban to Britain, Ireland

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus, his doctor said on Saturday, as the US president extended a travel ban to Britain and Ireland to try to slow the spread of a pandemic that has shut down much of the daily routine of American life.

After White House officials took the unprecedented step of checking the temperatures of journalists entering the briefing room, Trump told reporters he took a test for the virus on Friday night. On Saturday evening, his physician, Sean Conley, said the results were negative.

The U.S. president met with a Brazilian delegation last week, at least one member of which has since tested positive.

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Trump said Americans should reconsider non-essential travel, and that his administration was also considering domestic travel restrictions.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the country has recorded 2,226 case of the new coronavirus but has not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.

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“This will get worse before it gets better,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said at the briefing. But, he added, “99% of people will recov