COVID-19: Pompeo Shortens Asia Tour after Trump's Infection

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to cut short his trip to East Asia following the hospitalization of American president Donald Trump after testing positive for COVID-19.

"Pompeo would leave for Japan on Sunday but would not go to Mongolia and South Korea as originally planned," the State Department said in an official statement.

The US diplomat was meant to visit all three countries from 4-8 October.

Pompeo is still set to leave for Tokyo on Sunday but will be returning to Washington on 6 October after consultations with his Japanese counterparts and a wider meeting with foreign ministers of India and Australia.

"Secretary Pompeo expects to be traveling to Asia again in October and will work to reschedule visits on that trip, that is now just a few weeks off," the statement added, without mentioning Trump's illness.

It is worth mentioning that, news of US President Donald Trump’s infection with COVID-19 on Friday drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, and curiosity surrounding everything about the issue.

Yesterday, Trump tweeted that he is “feeling well” thanks to the medics treating him for COVID-19 in hospital, but a White House source has suggested the US president’s situation is serious.

An hour earlier, the President’s physician Dr. Sean Conley revealed the president is “doing very well” after being moved to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, near the White House.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where the president has been admitted hours earlier, the Trump’s medical team said they are “extremely happy” with his progress and many of his coronavirus symptoms, which include a cough and nasal congestion, “are now resolving and improving.”