Trump is no longer a COVID-19 'transmission risk': White House doctor

 President Donald Trump’s doctor said on Saturday (Oct 10) the president is no more vulnerable to transmitting the coronavirus.

In a memo, Dr Sean Conley says Trump meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognised standards” he's no more considered a transmission risk.

The memo follows Trump’s first public appearance since returning to the White House after being treated for the coronavirus. Hundreds of men and women gathered on Saturday afternoon on the South Lawn for a Trump address on his support for police from a White House balcony.

Trump became popular a mask moments after he emerged on the balcony to handle the crowd on the lawn below, his first step back onto the public stage with just more than three weeks to go until Election Day. He flouted, once more, the safety recommendations of his own government just days after acknowledging that he was on the brink of “bad things" from the virus and claiming that his bout with the illness brought him a better understanding of it.

His return was a short one. With bandages visible on his hands, likely from an intravenous injection, Trump spoke for 18 minutes, much less than at his normal hour-plus rallies. He appeared healthy, only if a little hoarse, as he delivered that which was, for all intents and purposes, a brief version of his campaign speech despite the executive mansion setting.

Though billed as an official event, Trump offered no policy proposals and instead delivered the most common attacks on Democrat Joe Biden while praising police to a crowd of several hundred, the majority of whom wore masks while few adhered to social distancing guidelines.

“I’m feeling great,” said Trump, who said he was thankful because of their good wishes and prayers as he recovered. Then declared that the pandemic, which has killed a lot more than 210,000 Americans, was “disappearing” even though he is still recovering from the virus.

Officials organised the crowd just steps from the Rose Garden, where specifically two weeks ago the president held another large gathering to formally announce his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. That event is now being eyed just as one COVID-19 superspreader as a lot more than two dozen persons in attendance have contracted the virus.

Trump had hoped to carry campaign rallies this weekend but settled for the White House event. But even while his health remained unclear, he planned to ramp up his travel with a rally in Florida on Monday, accompanied by trips to Pennsylvania and Iowa on subsequent days. It had been not yet determined if Trump posed a risk to those he'd fly with on Air Force One or face at the rally sites.

Prior to the speech, White House officials said that they had no information release a on whether the president was tested for COVID-19, meaning he made his first public appearance without the White House verifying that he's no more contagious.

Security was stepped up around the White House prior to the event, that was called a “peaceful protest for law & order” and predominantly attended by black and Latino supporters. Police and the trick Service closed surrounding streets to vehicles and turn off Lafayette Square, the park nearby the White House which has always been a gathering place for public protest.

As questions linger about his health - and Democratic opponent Joe Biden steps up his own campaigning - Trump has more frequently called into radio and TV programmes to consult with conservative interviewers, hoping to make up for lost time with just over three weeks until Election Day and millions already voting.

Biden's campaign said he again tested negative on Saturday for COVID-19. Biden was potentially exposed to the coronavirus during his Sep 29 debate with Trump, who announced his positive diagnosis barely 48 hours after the debate.