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06th Oct 2020

Donald Trump returns to White House after hospital stay and tells people not to fear Covid

Alan Loughnane

trump interview

He promised to be back on the campaign trail soon.

US President Donald Trump has returned to the White House after three days in hospital receiving treatment for Covid-19.

He wore a mask while leaving the hospital and again as he walked from Marine One to the White House.

Trump then discarded his mask for an extended period to watch the departure of the presidential helicopter and to pose for photos in front of American flags on the White House balcony.

Shortly before leaving the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland Trump tweeted: “Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!! The Fake News only shows the Fake Polls.”

The president still has Covid-19, and is still contagious, meaning that he should remain in isolation until at least 10 days after his initial diagnosis, according to CDC guidelines.

Trump waved from the balcony, then walked inside where masked staff could be seen, but he emerged a short time later to shoot a video, which he tweeted a short time later.

In the video he said: “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines, all developed recently.”

With less than a month until Election Day on 3 November, polls show Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump’s apparent attempt to convey strength comes the same day as his own press secretary tested positive for the virus, the latest in the viral outbreak raging within a White House that consistently flouts containment measures, such as mask wearing.

Uncertainty remains about how long Trump has actually had the virus. The President of the US returned a positive test last Thursday night and the virus is typically at its most serious in patients between the seven to 10 day mark.

In a briefing at Walter Reed, presidential physician Sean Conley said Trump is “back” but that he would not be “entirely out of the woods” for another week.

It has been more than 72 hours since Trump’s last fever, Conley added, and his blood oxygen level was normal.

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