US President Donald Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 using a rapid test, his White House physician said on Monday, 12 October. This comes just 10 days after the President of the United States announced he had contracted the coronavirus.
“I can share with you that he tested negative, on consecutive days, using the Abbot BinaxNOW antigen card," Trump’s physician Sean Conley said in a memo released to the public.
The doctor said the negative determination had taken into account a number of measurements such as viral load, subgenomic RNA, PCR cycle, threshold measurements, assessment of viral cultural data, and not just the rapid test alone.
“This comprehensive data, in concert with the CDC’s guidelines for removal of transmission-based precautions, have informed our medical team’s assessment that the President is not infectious to others,” the memo read.
The White House has been criticised for not releasing adequate information about the president’s condition.
Return to Campaign Trail
Meanwhile, President Trump made a return to the campaign trail on Monday, claiming at a rally in Florida that he felt “so powerful” after his recovery from COVID-19 that he wanted to walk into the audience and “kiss everyone”, Bloomberg reported.
Trump said that he was energised by the prayers and support of his fans, adding “Twenty-two days from now we’re going to win this state, we’re going to win four more years at the White House.”
Trump’s appearance in Florida is part of his effort to reverse his slide in polls in the key swing state, Bloomberg reported. However, Dr Anthony Fauci warned in an interview with CNN on Monday that this event, along with the others planned, could advance the spread of COVID-19.
Trump’s trip to Florida and the resuming of large-scale rallies risks reinforces perceptions that he’s been cavalier about the severity of COVID-19.
Trump has been criticised by his Democratic opponent Joe Biden and others for his attitude about the spread of coronavirus in United States which is leading in the country, in terms of the number of infections. As on Tuesday, 7,830,000 people have tested positive for the infection and 215,000 deaths have been reported.
On Saturday, Trump made his first public appearance since testing positive, delivering a campaign-style speech before hundreds of people gathered closely together on the South Lawn of the White House. The White House doctor had then said in a memo that Trump was no longer considered a transmission risk. But it was unclear whether he had tested negative.
Trump has been asserting that his infection and subsequent recovery has made him “immune.”
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)