Brazilian official who met Trump tests positive for COVID-19; US Prez, Irish PM switch to 'Namaste'

Washington, Mar 13: A Brazilian government official who recently attended an official meeting at US President Donald Trump's resort in Florida has been tested positive for coronavirus, the Estado de S Paulo newspaper said on Thursday.

Reportedly, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, is awaiting the results of a second confirmation test, according to the report.

Wajngarten, the chief spokesperson for the Brazilian government, travelled with Bolsonaro last Saturday to Tuesday to the US, where he met with his US counterpart.

Wajngarten has also posted a photo on his Instagram account, standing next to Trump wearing a "Make Brazil great again" cap.

The Brazilian presidency said in a statement that Wajngarten reportedly developed flu-like symptoms and tested positive for the COVID-19.

However, the US President Trump said on Thursday he was not concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus after dining last week with Bolsonaro, whose press aide tested positive.

"Let's put it this way: I'm not concerned," Trump told reporters while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office.

Trump and Varadkar greeted each other in the traditional Indian way of 'namaste' at the White House on Thursday, which they said was necessary in the current times of coronavirus.

Trump and Varadkar, who is of Indian-origin, joined their palms in the 'namaste' pose.