Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office despite STILL being at risk of spreading coronavirus
Marine standing guard outside Oval Office signifies Trump IS back to work despite still being a covid spreading risk and on a cocktail of powerful, experimental drugs
- President Donald Trump returned to Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon
- A Marine guard appeared in front of the West Wing
- President being briefed on the stimulus talks and Hurricane Delta
- Dr. Sean Conley said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has not experiencing symptoms related to coronavirus for 24 hours
- In the statement, Conley shared that Trump said, ‘I feel great!’
- A test taken Monday revealed Trump has antibodies for coronavirus present, raising questions over the timeline of when he first contracted the disease
- CDC guidelines say people should not return to work until 10 days after they first experienced symptoms
President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office on Wednesday to be briefed on the stimulus talks and Hurricane Delta, the White House announced, despite being contagious from the coronavirus.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is with Trump as is Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, the White House said. Meadows is wearing protective gear.
Those are the only two senior aides that have been with president. A table with PPE is set up outside the West Wing.
A nurse is on duty outside the Oval Office, The New York Times reported, citing a source.
Trump went into the Oval via the colonnade, which is the outdoor walkway that leads from the front door of the residence, around the Rose Garden and to the outer doors of the West Wing. That kept him away from West Wing hallways where staff are working.
Trump tweeted he spoke with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards about the hurricane headed to their coast and urged people to listen to FEMA.
‘Was just briefed on Hurricane Delta, and spoke with @GovAbbott of Texas and @LouisianaGov John Bel Edwards. Please heed the directions of your State and Local Officials. We are working with them very closely — please be prepared, be careful, and be safe!,’ he wrote.
A Marine guard appeared in front of the West Wing Wednesday afternoon. A Marine is present when the president is in the Oval Office.
White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern said precautions were in place for when the president wanted to return to his office.
‘We have ways for him to do that, we have PPE that we can use. And we can interact with him standing back like you’re standing back,’ he told reporters outside the White House.
‘And people can wear masks, or goggles or gloves or whatever may be needed. We have the CDC guidelines,’ he added.
He pointed out that the ‘White House in the West Wing are deep cleaned on a regular basis. So there is a way for him to work out of a variety of rooms safely when he’s ready to do that. I think we saw today in the doctor’s announcement that he’s symptom free. That he has antibodies that they’re identifying now it’s a great sign.’
Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s lead physician, said in a statement earlier Wednesday Trump is stable, has not experienced coronavirus symptoms for 24 hours, and has shown signs of antibodies to the virus in his system.
The president has received a course of the antiviral medication remdesivir. Anti virals work by injecting antibodies into the patient’s system to help the person fight the disease. It’s unclear what level of the drug Trump has received.
Shortly after the statement on Trump’s condition from his osteopath, Regeneron issued a statement saying that the presence of antibodies could simply be those he had received through their drug – which means that calling it a ‘great sign’ may not in fact be true.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines state that in order to ‘return to work,’ individuals must be 10 days past the time when they first experienced symptoms.
According to updates from the president’s medical team, Trump first started feeling ill on Friday, when a fever was detected and his oxygen fell below normal levels. He went to the hospital on Friday evening.
Trump has been recovering in the residence since he returned to the White House Monday night after spending four days in Walter Reed Medical Center.
There is an office in the residence for the president to work out of.
In his update on Wednesday afternoon, Conley shared the president had a message for Americans: ‘I feel great!’
The Navy Commander said labs taken Monday show there are present COVID-19 antibodies in the president’s system – raising questions for when he truly contracted coronavirus.
‘Of note today, the President’s labs demonstrated detectable levels of SARS-CoV-2IgG antibodies from the labs drawn Monday, October 5; initial IgG levels drawn late Thursday night were undetectable’ Conley wrote in his statement.
Conley also noted Trump has not needed any supplemental oxygen since his initial hospitalization at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday.
A Marine guard appeared in front of the West Wing Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office
Donald Trump’s top physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said Wednesday that the president has not experiencing symptoms related to coronavirus for 24 hours
In the statement updating Americans, Conley shared the president said, ‘I feel great!’
The ‘super spread’ event that likely sparked the White House outbreak was the Rose Garden announcement last Saturday where Trump named Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.
Barrett tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this summer, but has since tested negative.
Trump confirmed overnight Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive after they were made aware earlier in the day that his counselor Hope Hicks contracted the virus.
It also appears another indecent where cases spread was at the White House event honoring Gold Star families last Sunday.
So far, 21 people within the president’s inner circle – including himself and his wife – have tested positive for coronavirus over the last week.
Trump was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday, where he was treated at the presidential suite for three nights.
Doctors put him on a cocktail of medications including the steroid dexamethasone, antiviral medication remdesivir and, at time, supplemental oxygen to help with breathing.
Some White House aides said in a report that the president appeared stronger when he returned to the White House on Monday evening, but claim they can hear him struggling to catch his breath sometimes.
All aides and advisers who come in contact with the president are required to wear full personal protective equipment, including yellow gowns, surgical masks and disposable protective eye goggles.
Conflicting statements from top advisers Wednesday created confusion over whether Trump has returned to work in the Oval Office – although it now appears he has not done so, but wants to get back to the office sometime this week.
TRUMP’S INNER CIRCLE WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1
Ronna McDaniel, 47. Chair of the Republican National Convention
McDaniel is thought to have been the first positive case. It was not made public until after Trump’s diagnosis.
She was last in contact with Trump on September 25. McDaniel began isolating on September 26 when a member of her family tested positive. She got her results several days later.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 2
Hope Hicks, 31, Counselor to the President
Hicks was the first case reported and was tied to the President’s positive test.
She flew with him through the week before he was diagnosed and started feeling unwell on her way back from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night.
She quarantined on Air Force One to stay away from him.
President Donald Trump, 74
Confirmed positive diagnosis on Friday October 2 at 1am. Was taken to Walter Reed on Friday night, where he remained on Monday afternoon.
Reported symptoms included trouble breathing, lethargy and a fever.
He was given an antibody cocktail on Friday and other treatments.
First Lady Melania Trump, 50
Confirmed positive diagnosis on Friday October 2 at 1am. She has been quarantining in the White House.
She suffered mild symptoms including a cough and a headache but has said repeatedly that she feels ‘good’.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2
Fr. John Jenkins, 66, President of the University of Notre Dame
Jenkins attended the announcement of Amy Coney Barrett as Trump’s Supreme Court Nomination without a mask on Saturday September 25.
The event in the White House Rose Garden is now widely believed to be the source of many of the infections.
He is not thought to have severe symptoms.
Mike Lee, 49, Republican Utah Senator
Lee also attended the event in the Rose Garden and he was seen hugging other attendees without a mask on.
He is not thought to have severe symptoms either.
Bill Stepien, 42, Trump’s Campaign Manager
Stepien tested positive after Trump.
He had mild, flu-like symptoms and planned to continue working from home.
He attended Tuesday night’s rally in Cleveland, having flown with Trump and Hicks on Air Force One to and from the event.
Michael Shear, 52, New York Times White House correspondent, and two other unnamed journalists
The journalists’ positive diagnoses were revealed on Friday.
Two attended the SCOTUS event, where they said they were forced into pen like enclosures at the back, with little space between them.
Hardly any of the guests at the event wore masks, they said.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 3
Thom Tillis, 60, Republican North Carolina Senator
Tillis announced that he’d tested positive after routinely testing negative.
He said he was asymptomatic.
‘Over the last few months, I’ve been routinely tested for COVID-19, including testing negative last Saturday, but tonight my rapid antigen test came back positive,’ he said in a statement.
Chris Christie, 58, Former New Jersey Governor
Christie has been at the White House frequently in recent weeks and was at the SCOTUS event.
He tested positive on Saturday and checked himself into hospital, he said, out of an abundance of caution because of his health conditions including asthma.
Nicholas Luna, 29, Chief of Oval Office Operations and ‘body man’
Luna’s job requirements involve following Trump around at all times.
He tested positive on Saturday night, more than 24 hours after President Trump did
Ron Johnson, 65, Republican Wisconsin Senator
Johnson still attended an Oktoberfest event on Friday night while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, despite knowing he had come into contact with others who had tested positive.
He defended it, saying he was asymptomatic
SUNDAY OCTOBER 4
Kellyanne Conway, 53, Former White House Counselor to the President
Conway and her daughter have both tested positive.
The daughter, Claudia, revealed on Tik Tok that her mom had been coughing all over their home
MONDAY OCTOBER 5
Kayleigh McEnany, 32, White House Press Secretary
McEnany had tested negative last week after Trump’s diagnosis and she continued giving press conferences without a mask on until Sunday
Chad Gilmartin. Assistant Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt, Assistant Press Secretary
Two unnamed staff members who work in the White House residence.
They were told to use ‘discretion’ when discussing it, according to The New York Times
TUESDAY OCTOBER 6
Stephen Miller, 35, White House policy advisor
Miller had been working remotely for five days, and tested negative for coronavirus each day prior to testing positive, the administration said.
