President Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. What's the typical course of the illness?

President Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, as have more than 7 million other Americans. Here's what we know about the usual course of the disease.

So far the President's doctor has said only Trump is "well." No information is available as to whether he is experiencing symptoms.

About 40% of people who are exposed to COVID-19 don't have any symptoms at all. It's too early to know if the President will be among them as symptoms typically appear two to 14 days after exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump was presumably exposed by his aide, Hope Hicks. It was announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was symptomatic on Thursday. She appears to have been diagnosed on Wednesday evening when she flew with the President to Minnesota.

There is increasing data that people infected with COVID-19 who show symptoms have higher viral loads than those without symptoms. That could mean that Hicks exposed the President to higher levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus than she would have if she had an asymptomatic case of the disease.

In addition, the President rarely wears a mask in public appearances. "That may put him at higher risk of being exposed to a higher viral inoculum," said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and infectious disease expert at the University of California.

"However, the interplay between host and pathogen is complex and so we will have to wait and observe this carefully," she said.