US President Donald Trump's positive test result for the coronavirus could pose immediate difficulties for the future of his campaign against previous VP Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger, with just a month before the election on Nov 3.
Even if Mr Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he'll have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time.
Here is what you should know concerning the situation:
STILL FIT TO RUN FOR OFFICE?
If Mr Trump becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all.
Even if he doesn't become seriously ill, the positive test could prove devastating to his political fortunes, given his months of diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic even as the virus was still ravaging the country and killing about 1,000 Americans every day.
He has repeatedly predicted the virus "is going to disappear", asserted that it was under control and insisted that the country was "rounding the corner" to the end of the crisis.
HARDER TO DODGE COVID-19 ISSUE
A positive test will undercut Mr Trump's effort to change the subject ahead of the election away from a pandemic that polls show most Americans believe he has mishandled and onto political terrain he considers more favourable.
He has sought to focus voter attention instead on violence in cities, his Supreme Court nomination, mail-in ballots and Mr Biden's relationship with liberals.
SPREAD OF UNCERTAINTIES
Aside from the campaign, the symbolism of an infected presi-dent could rattle governors and business owners trying to assess when and how to reopen or keep open shops, schools, parks, beaches, restaurants, factories and other workplaces.
AGE RISK FOR TRUMP, 74?
In his eighth decade of life, Mr Trump belongs to the age cate-gory deemed most vulnerable to the virus. Eight out of every 10 deaths attributed to it in the United States have been among those 65 and older.
But while Mr Trump has been reported to have high cholesterol and tips the scale at around 110kg, which is considered obese for his height, the President's doctor pronounced Mr Trump in "very good health" the previous year after his last full medical check-up. And, unlike several of those who have succumbed to the virus, he'll have the best medical care available.
TRUMP'S CAMP UNDER ATTACK
A variety of people around Mr Trump were previously infected by the virus, including most recently Mr Robert O'Brien, his National Security Adviser, who had a mild case before returning to work in August.
Others infected include Ms Kimberly Guilfoyle, his son's girlfriend; a White House valet; Ms Katie Miller, VP Mike Pence's press secretary; as well as several Secret Service agents, campaign advance workers and a Marine in the President's helicopter unit.
Mr Herman Cain, a previous Republican presidential candidate and political ally of Mr Trump's, died of the coronavirus in July after attending the President's campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Mr Cain, like several in the arena, was seen not wearing a mask at least part of the time.
FALSE BRAVADO
Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence in public about his own health, saying he was not concerned about being exposed despite his various close calls.
Behind the scenes, though, the self-described germophobe was angry in the spring that his valet, who is among those who serve him food, had not been wearing a mask before testing positive, according to people in touch with him.
Mr Trump also privately expressed irritation with people who got too close to him.
LETTING DOWN THEIR GUARD
Just as Mr Trump and Mr Pence were being tested every day, those coming into proximity to them were subject to daily tests as well, while other White House employees had tests every several days.
But those protocols were soon relaxed and most White House officials were rarely seen wearing masks, at least when the President was present. While the coronavirus is much deadlier than the flu, the vast majority of people infected by it recover, especially if there is no underlying condition, but the threat climbs with age.
If Mr Trump becomes symptomatic, it could take him weeks to recover.
NYTIMES, BLOOMBERG