Melania Trump Reveals Son Barron Also Tested Positive for COVID-19 and Recovered: 'No Symptoms'

"He has since tested negative," the first lady said in a statement on Wednesday

Donald, Melania and Barron Trump on August 16, 2020. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP/Shutterstock

First Lady Melania Trump revealed on Wednesday that her teenage son Barron Trump also tested positive for COVID-19 and has since recovered.

Barron, 14, initially tested positive after his parents President Donald Trump and the first lady announced they had the novel coronavirus on Oct. 2.

"But again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think 'What about tomorrow or the next day?' " Mrs. Trump revealed in a statement. "My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive."

She said Barron showed "no symptoms" and later recovered, testing negative, though the White House has not said when.

The White House declined to comment further when PEOPLE requested clarification on the timeline of his illness.

"Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms," the first lady said, adding, "In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative."

Mrs. Trump, 50, said she has also tested negative since her diagnosis and that she "experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time."

"I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food," she said. "We had wonderful caretakers around us and we will be forever grateful for the medical care and professional discretion we received from Dr. Conley and his team."

President Trump, 74, told reporters as he was boarding Air Force One on Wednesday afternoon that Barron is “fine,” according to a pool report which noted journalists had asked about how his son was doing after the first lady's statement.

President Trump was hospitalized for three days with the virus earlier this month and received a mix of steroids and experimental cocktails.

All three of the Trumps have since recovered.

Also in her lengthy statement, Mrs. Trump echoed her husband’s notion that as recovered patients they both now have a unique insight into the virus the White House has long downplayed.

“It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to be the patient instead of a person trying to encourage our nation to stay healthy and safe,” the first lady said. “As the patient, and the person benefitting from so much medical support, I found myself even more grateful and in awe of caretakers and first responders everywhere."

Most Americans, of course, do not have the access to the quality of healthcare available to the first family.

“Recovering from an illness gives you a lot of time to reflect,” the first lady said. “When my husband was taken to Walter Reed as a precaution, I spent much of my time reflecting on my family.”

Mrs. Trump added: “I also thought about the hundreds of thousands of people across our country who have been impacted by this illness that infects people with no discrimination.”

“We are in unprecedented times — and with the election fast approaching, it has been easy to get caught up in so much negative energy,” she said.

The first lady encouraged Americans “to continue to live the healthiest life they can,” though her statement gave no mention of wearing masks or practicing social distancing, which federal health experts have said are leading efforts all people can take to slow the spread of the virus. The president has frequently shown his disdain for wearing masks, either by not complying or mocking them.

At least 216,022 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, according to a New York Times tracker. More than 7.9 million people across the country, including the Trumps, have contracted the virus this year.

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