US president Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a tweet on Friday. His wife, Melania, also has the coronavirus.

Hope Hicks, counsellor to Trump, had tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, and Trump confirmed on Thursday night that he started a “quarantine process” with his wife Melania as they wait for their own test results.

Hicks was the closest White House official to Trump to test positive for the virus so far, AP reported.

Hicks travelled with Trump aboard Air Force One to and from the first debate Tuesday between him and the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden. She also travelled with him on the presidential helicopter to another destination this week.

She was on a plane with Trump from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, when she started displaying mild symptoms of the coronavirus, AP reported.

More than 200,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus – a fifth of the global total.