US President Donald Trump held a campaign-style comeback event at the White House on Saturday, 10 October, the first time since his 2 October announcement that he and the First Lady had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
"I am feeling great!" Trump declared as he stepped out to a White House balcony, removing his mask to address the crowd.
"I want you to know our nation is going to defeat this terrible China virus. It's going to disappear. It is disappearing," Trump said as chants of "USA" and "four more years" reverberated through his 20-minute address, reported news agency AFP.
According to ABC News, the event featured "remarks to peaceful protesters for law and order" by the President.
Trump No Longer a Transmission Risk: Doctor
After the rally, Trump's personal physician Sean Conley issued a memo saying that the president’s tests in the morning showed that under "currently recognised standards, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others".
Ahead of the event on Saturday, there had been concerns that Trump could still be contagious, BBC reported.
The memo from Conley on Saturday said the latest tests on Trump showed there was "no longer evidence of actively replicating virus," and that his viral load was "decreasing".
However, the memo did not mention whether Trump had tested negative for COVID so far.
Trump to Hold Campaign on 12 October
The Trump campaign announced that the President will hold a rally in Florida on 12 October.
It was confirmed by the Trumo in a tweet, saying: “Will be in Sanford, Florida on Monday for a very big rally.”
Reacting to the announcements of the White House event and also the Florida rally, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's deputy direct response coordinator Mike Gwin said that "Trump seems to be living in an alternate reality where he isn't sick and contagious with COVID-19".
"This decision is stunningly reckless and irresponsible, and it's only the latest evidence that Trump has waved the white flag of defeat against this virus even as it kills thousands of Americans each week and batters our economy," ABC News quoted Gwin as saying.
(With inputs from AFP, BBC and IANS)
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