Donald Trump 'not infectious to others' after consecutive negative coronavirus tests, says White House doctor

AP
Ellena Cruse12 October 2020

President Donald Trump has tested negative for coronavirus on consecutive days, the White House revealed.

Physician, Dr Sean Conley wrote a memo which stated that the US president is no longer "infectious to others".

The White House medical team made the determination after getting negative antigen results.

The news comes as Mr Trump boarded Air Force One for a campaign rally in Sanford Florida.

Dr Conley said: "I can share with you that he has tested negative, on consecutive days, using the Abbott BinaxNow antigen card.

"It is important to note that this test was not used in isolation for the determination of the President's current negative status.

"Repeatedly negative antigen tests, taken in contact with additional clinical and laboratory data, including viral load, subgenomic RNA, and PCR cycle threshold measurements, as well as ongoing assessment of viral culture data, all indicate a lack of dectable viral replication."

He added: "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."

It comes as Mr Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Monday, as new polls showed that he had lost ground to Democratic rival Joe Biden.

The President's evening rally at an airport in Florida will be his first since he disclosed on October 2 that he tested positive for Covid-19.

For months, his campaign had worked furiously to shift public attention away from the virus and his handling of the pandemic, which has infected nearly 7.7 million people in the United States, killed more than 214,000 and put millions out of work.

His own illness has put the spotlight squarely on his coronavirus response in the run up to the November 3 election.

Most recent polls in Florida show Mr Biden with a small lead and Mr Trump only won Florida in 2016 by just 1.2 percentage points.

Critics fault Mr Trump for failing to encourage supporters at campaign events, and even White House staff, to wear protective masks and abide by social-distancing guidelines. At least 11 close Trump aides have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump campaign senior adviser Steve Cortes told Fox News that the president’s doctors said he was free of the disease and not contagious to anyone.

“He has been like a racehorse who has been kept in a starting gate for too long," he said.

"That horse is ready to gallop."

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