Donald Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien tests positive for COVID-19

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien has become the latest among the US president’s close aides to test positive for coronavirus, media reports said on Friday night.

Trump’s spokesperson Tim Murtaugh confirmed the news to BloombergQuint on the same day, after Politico reported it. The 42-year-old is reportedly experiencing “mild symptoms” and is expected to continue with his work from home.

The report comes a day after Donald Trump and his wife Melania announced that they had tested positive for COVID-19. Trump was earlier admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment.

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Stepien is the seventh person to test positive for the coronavirus, among Trump’s inner political circle. Earlier, apart from the US President and the first lady, Trump’s top aide Hope Hicks, former counsellor to the White House Kellyanne Conway, Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee, Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, and University of Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins had tested positive for the virus. 

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Stepien took charge as Trump’s campaign manager in July in a bid to run the struggling campaign better, replacing Brad Parscale. Earlier on Friday, he announced that all in-person campaigns were being switched to the virtual mode owing to Trump’s condition.