President Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus, his doctor said Saturday evening, nine days after the president first tested positive for the virus.
“This evening I am happy to report that in addition to the President meeting the CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, this morning’s COVID PCR sample demonstrates, by currently recognized standards, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others,” White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said in a memo.
“Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus,” Conley added.
Conley’s announcement came hours after Trump held his first public event since his October 1 diagnosis, which had been followed by a three-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Ahead of the event, the White House would not say whether Trump had yet tested negative for the coronavirus.
Trump delivered remarks in a brief 18-minute address on law and order from the White House balcony to a crowd of several hundred mostly- masked supporters on the South Lawn.
“I’m feeling great,” Trump told the crowd, only briefly mentioning his health.
He said he was thankful for the good wishes and prayers he received and said the pandemic was “disappearing,” though it has killed more than 210,000 Americans and shows no signs of slowing down.
Conley issued a statement Thursday evening saying that he anticipated Trump would be able to hold public events again by Saturday.
“Overall he’s responded extremely well to treatment, without evidence on examination of adverse therapeutic effects,” Conley wrote, adding that, “Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday’s diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the president’s safe return to public engagement at that time.”
The president has also announced he would hold a campaign rally on Monday in Florida, as well.
More than two dozen coronavirus cases have been tied to the White House or people who spent time with Trump, according to NPR. A number of attendees of the White House’s ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett have tested positive, including the president, several top staffers, senators and military officials.
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday called the September 26 event in the Rose Garden, in which most attendees closely mingled mask-less, a “super-spreader” for the coronavirus.
Ahead of Trump’s Saturday remarks on law and order, in a show of newfound concern over the virus, guests were asked to wear a mask on the White House grounds and told they would be subject to temperature checks and a brief questionnaire about recent symptoms, the Wall Street Journal reported.