Trump insists he's free of virus, ready for campaign trail

President Donald Trump on Sunday declared he was healthy eugh to return to campaign trail , a day after White House doctor said he was longer at risk of transmitting coronavirus but did t say explicitly wher Trump had tested negative for it.

Trump, who was poised Monday to host his first rally after his COVID-19 diagsis, declared he was w “immune" from virus, a claim that was impossible to prove and comes amid a series of outstanding questions about president's health.

“I’m immune," Trump said in an interview on Fox News. “ president is in very good shape to fight battles."

In a memo released Saturday night by White House, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley said Trump met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognized standards” he was longer considered a transmission risk. memo did t declare Trump had tested negative for virus.

But sensitive lab tests — like PCR test cited in doctor’s statements — detect virus in swab samples taken from se and throat. Some medical experts had been skeptical that Trump could be declared free of risk of transmitting virus so early in course of his illness. Just 10 days since an initial diagsis of infection, re was way to kw for certain that someone was longer contagious, y said.

memo followed Trump’s first public appearance since returning to White House after being treated for coronavirus at a military hospital. Hundreds of people gared Saturday afteron on South Lawn for a Trump address on his support for law enforcement from a White House balcony.

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

His return was a brief one. With bands visible on his hands, likely from an intraveus injection, Trump spoke for 18 minutes, far less than his rmal hour-plus rallies. He appeared healthy, if perhaps a little hoarse, as he delivered what was, for all intents and purposes, a short version of his campaign speech despite executive mansion setting.

“I’m feeling great,” Trump told crowd, adding that he was thankful for ir good wishes and prayers as he recovered. He n declared that pandemic, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans, was “disappearing” even though he is still recovering from virus.

In eir an act of defiance or simply tempting fate, officials organized event just steps from Rose Garden, where exactly two weeks ago president held ar large garing to formally anunce his mination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court. That garing is w being eyed as a possible COVID-19 superspreader as more than two dozen people in attendance have contracted virus.

His return to full-fledged rallies will be in Florida on Monday, a comeback that comes with president facing stubborn deficits in polls. Trump campaign and White House has t indicated that any additional safety measures will be taken to prevent transmission of virus among those traveling on Air Force One or at rally site.

As Trump returned to public st, Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist and department chairman at Yale School of Public Health, said that White House appeared to be following CDC guidelines for when it is appropriate to end isolation after mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.

But Ko cautioned that those who have had severe cases of diseases should isolate for 20 days. He ted that Trump was treated with steroid dexamethasone, which is rmally reserved for patients with severe COVID. Ko added that White House had issued “convoluted” statements about Trump’s health that left many questions unanswered, including wher president ever had pneumonia.

memo stated that Trump had reached day 10 from onset of symptoms, had been free of fever for well over 24 hours, and that all symptoms had improved. People who have had COVID-19 can continue to test positive for weeks or longer after y are longer infectious.

Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, said tight time frame laid out by White House made it appear that “y’re really just pushing to get him out of isolation” and back to campaigning.

Trump will follow Florida rally with trips to Pennsylvania and Iowa on subsequent days. White House has steadfastly refused to release detailed information about lung scans taken while Trump was hospitalized or say when his last negative test was before his Oct. 2 diagsis, raising questions as to how frequently president was tested and if he potentially was carrying virus for days before it was detected.

Democrat Joe Biden's campaign said minee again tested negative on Saturday for COVID-19. Biden was potentially exposed to coronavirus during his Sept. 29 debate with Trump, who anunced his positive diagsis barely 48 hours after debate.

president had t been seen in public — or than in White House-produced videos — since his return last Monday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he received experimental treatments for coronavirus.

District of Columbia virus restrictions prohibit outdoor garings larger than 50 people, although that rule has t been strictly enforced. Masks are mandatory outdoors for most people, but regulations don’t apply on federal land, and Trump White House has openly flouted m for months.

While reports of reinfection in COVID-19 victims are rare, CDC recommends that even people who recover from disease continue to wear masks, stay distanced and follow or precautions. It was unclear if Trump, who has refused mask wearing in most settings, would abide by that guidance.