(Photo: Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has been tested for the novel coronavirus and will have the results in a few days.

"I also took the test last night," Trump told reporters at a White House press briefing. "I decided I should based on the press conference yesterday. People were asking that I take the test."

Asked when he expected to have the results, Trump said the test was sent to a lab and could take a day or two.

The president added that he also had his temperature taken before entering the briefing and that it was normal.

During a press conference Friday in the Rose Garden, reporters asked Trump why he was still not tested after coming into contact with a member of the Brazilian delegation last weekend who had tested positive for the virus.

At Friday's press conference, Trump declared a national emergency to open up 50 billion US dollars in federal aid to help combat the spread of COVID-19 across the country, and he also said he would "most likely" get tested.

In a memorandum released late Friday night, Sean Conley, the White House physician, said the president's interactions with the Brazilian delegation last weekend would be categorized as low risk for transmission, and "there is no indication for home quarantine at this time."

However, out of "an abundance of caution," the White House has begun checking the temperatures of anyone in close contact with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said Saturday.

The United States reported 2,488 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday noon with at least 51 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.