Giuliani latest COVID-19 case in Trump inner circle

Donald Trump said on Dec. 6 his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for COVID-19, the latest member of the president's inner circle - where mask wearing is rare - to contract the disease.

The 76-year-old former New York City mayor's age puts him in a high-risk group, and the New York Times and ABC reported he was hospitalized on Dec. 6 in Washington as the U.S. faces a record surge in coronavirus cases.

Giuliani's diagnosis comes after he had been crisscrossing the country, leading the president's defiant - and unsuccessful - effort to undo Joe Biden's victory in the November 3 presidential election.

During his travels, Giuliani has been seen frequently without a mask: on Wednesday, he was at the Michigan state assembly in Lansing with his face uncovered for a hearing that lasted more than four hours.

On Thursday, CNN showed footage of him in Atlanta walking maskless down a hall chatting with several other people whose faces were uncovered.

"Giuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus," Trump tweeted, using a term he applies to the coronavirus that has been widely decried as racist and fanning conspiracy theories.

"Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!" the president added.

A few hours earlier, Giuliani was interviewed live on Fox News and showed no signs of the disease.

Trump's legal team said in a statement that Giuliani tested negative twice before his most recent trip and "did not experience any symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 until more than 48 hours after his return."

Other members of the legal team will follow...