WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 for a second time, the White House announced on Thursday.

In a memo, White House physician Sean Conley said Trump tested again for the virus earlier in the day, "utilizing a new, rapid point-of-care test capability."

"The President tested negative for COVID-19," Conley wrote. "He is healthy and without symptoms. Sample collection took just one minute, and results were reported back in 15 minutes."

During a White House press briefing on Thursday, Trump said he took the test "really out of curiosity."

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the new coronavirus test last week, which officials have claimed can provide results in 15 minutes.

Trump was first tested for coronavirus on March 14, after a Brazilian official who previously met with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida had tested positive.

A staffer in Vice-President Mike Pence's office tested positive for the virus on March 20. Both Pence and his wife later tested negative.