By JON HAWORTH and EMILY SHAPIRO(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is back in the White House and back on twitter as he fights a coronavirus infection.The president left Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday evening, landing at the White House shortly before 7 p.m.After Marine One landed on the White House South Lawn, Trump walked up the steps of White House, faced the cameras and took off his mask. Trump gave a thumbs up and an extended salute to Marine One, before walking inside the residence.Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and spent several days in the hospital, tweeted Tuesday morning, “FEELING GREAT!”The president is returning to a White House plagued by COVID-19 as 19 people in Trump’s orbit have reported testing positive since last week. Questions remain about how many more people at the highest levels of government had been exposed to the virus after a week of events involving the president where social distancing and mask-wearing were lax.Melania Trump, who has been at the White House since she tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, “continues to rest and is doing well,” the first lady’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, said Tuesday.Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative for the coronavirus again on Tuesday morning, the vice president’s office said, while Sen. Kamala Harris tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday, according to an aide. Pence and Harris are in Utah ahead of Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate.
Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.Oct 06, 1:32 pmJoint Chiefs all quarantining at home after vice commandant of Coast Guard tests positiveThe vice commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, is under quarantine at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, according to a Coast Guard statement.Ray had “mild symptoms over the weekend,” the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said it’s “following established policies for COVID, per CDC guidelines, to include quarantine and contact tracing.”All the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are now quarantining at home after Ray tested positive, a U.S. official confirmed.The official says this is being done as a precautionary move after Ray participated in a meeting with the chiefs either Friday or Monday.”A Department of Defense statement says, “Out of an abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning. No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.”The Department of Defense added, “There is no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of the U.S. Armed Forces. Senior military leaders are able to remain fully mission capable and perform their duties from an alternative work location.”ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.Oct 06, 1:32 pmPence’s doctor says VP doesn’t need to quarantineAmid questions about whether Vice President Mike Pence should be quarantining following his contact with Trump last week, Pence’s physician issued a memorandum saying Pence “is not a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, including President Donald J. Trump and senior members of the White House administration, according to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).”Pence’s last known interaction with Trump was one week ago on Tuesday, ahead of the president’s trip to Cleveland for the presidential debate.Pence was also at the White House Rose Garden for Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination; 11 people at that event have since tested positive for COVID-19.Pence is now in Utah ahead of Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate.Pence’s doctor said the vice president has had daily rapid tests and periodic PRC tests.Pence and his wife tested negative for the coronavirus again on Tuesday morning, the vice president’s office said.ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.
Oct 06, 1:05 pmTrump reports no symptoms on Tuesday, his physician saysThe president is reporting no symptoms from the coronavirus on Tuesday, Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memorandum.”This morning the President’s team of physicians met with him in the Residence. He had a restful first night at home, and today he reports no symptoms,” the memo said. “Vital signs and physical exam remain stable, with an ambulatory oxygen saturation level of 95-97%. Overall he continues to do extremely well.”
Oct 06, 12:59 pmJoint Chiefs all quarantining at home after vice commandant of Coast Guard tests positiveThe vice commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, is under quarantine at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, according to a Coast Guard statement.Ray had “mild symptoms over the weekend,” the Coast Guard said.All the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are now quarantining at home after Ray tested positive, a U.S. official confirmed.The official says this is being done as a precautionary move after Ray participated in a meeting with the chiefs either Friday or Monday.”The Coast Guard said it’s “following established policies for COVID, per CDC guidelines, to include quarantine and contact tracing.”ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.The joint chiefs are chairman Gen. Milley, vice chmn Gen. Hyten, and the top generals and admirals of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and the Space Force.
Oct 06, 12:26 pmWhite House valet who traveled with Trump has tested positiveA White House valet who traveled with the president last week and often works in the Oval Office tested positive for COVID-19 this weekend, according to administration sources familiar with the matter.COVID-19 in DC: Who’s tested positive and negative so far in Trump’s orbitValets are employees who typically serve the president lunch or bring him drinks upon his request.Earlier this year, another valet who works in the Oval Office also tested positive.ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.Oct 06, 12:11 pmDC-area lawmakers want White House to share its total number of positive testsNine House Democrats representing Washington, D.C. and the city’s Maryland and Virginia suburbs are calling on the White House to share more information about the White House coronavirus outbreak, which they’re calling “out of control.”The lawmakers, whose constituents work at the White House, want the White House to disclose the date of Trump’s last negative test, the total number of positive cases, and cooperate with local and state health departments’ contact tracing efforts.”This is no time for publicity stunts that put people at risk, or for playing down the seriousness of this pandemic,” they wrote in a statement Tuesday. “The American people will never trust the Administration to keep them safe if the White House cannot protect its own staff.”ABC News’ Ben Siegel contributed to this report.
Oct 06, 11:46 amFacebook removes Trump’s post for inflating flu death numbersFacebook on Tuesday removed a post by the president, and Twitter tagged the post as misleading, after Trump incorrectly cited flu death numbers in a comparison to COVID-19. Trump, the morning after returning from the hospital to be treated for COVID-19, tweeted, “Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” he wrote.According to CDC estimates, the annual flu death toll has ranged between 12,000 and 61,000 since 2010.Trump also told Bob Woodward earlier this year that coronavirus is “more deadly than even your strenuous flu.”Trump used a similar comparison early on in the pandemic, before death totals began to rapidly rise.On March 9, Trump tweeted, “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”As of Tuesday, over 210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.Oct 06, 11:20 amTrump tweets he plans to be in Miami for next week’s debateThe morning after leaving the hospital, Trump tweeted that he plans to attend next week’s presidential debate in Miami.The debate is set for Oct. 15 — two weeks after the president tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 1.When asked about the president campaigning, Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said Monday, “As far as travel goes, we will see.”Trump’s campaign told ABC News on Monday that “it is the president’s intention to debate.”ABC News’ Will Steakin contributed to this report.
Oct 06, 9:17 amTrump says ‘we are learning to live with Covid’Trump, the morning after returning from the hospital to be treated for COVID-19, tweeted, “we are learning to live with Covid,” comparing the virus to the flu.
“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” he wrote.According to CDC estimates, the annual flu death toll has ranged between 12,000 and 61,000 since 2010.Trump also told Bob Woodward earlier this year that coronavirus is “more deadly than even your strenuous flu.”Trump used a similar comparison early on in the pandemic, before death totals began to rapidly rise.On March 9, Trump tweeted, “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”As of Tuesday, over 210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.
Oct 06, 5:02 amTrump campaign fundraising off president’s exit from Walter ReedThe Trump campaign is already fundraising off of President Trump’s exit from Walter Reed Medical Center Monday night, urging supporters not to be, “afraid of Covid,” which has killed over 200,000 Americans.The subject of a fundraising email sent Monday night said: “I’M BACK” — even though his doctors said earlier in the day that he’s not out of the woods yet.The email goes on to argue “under the Trump Administration, we have developed some really great drugs and knowledge,” but since testing positive the president has received some of the best treatment in the world — which most Americans don’t have access to.”This is it…I need you to step up to the front lines during this critical time,” the email urges supporters.Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
