Donald Trump has failed to confirm if he is rid of the disease after becoming infected late last week and being released from hospital on Monday.
In an interview with Fox News he said he was feeling ‘really, really strong’ and was now ‘medication free’ but when he fudged it when asked if he would be re-tested ahead of a White House rally of 2,000 people today. The President said: ‘I’ve been re-tested, I haven’t even found out numbers or anything yet, but I’ve been re-tested and I know I’m at either the bottom of the scale or free.’
It is feared that a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden in late September may have been a ‘super spreader’ event which led to at least 22 members of Trump’s inner circle being infected.
This time round, the POTUS will deliver a speech from a balcony and isn’t expected to mingle with groups of guests.
But his insistence on holding a large gathering while coronavirus rips through the White House has alarmed some of his aides.
The answer could help fill in vital details about the course of the president’s illness as well as when he may have been contagious and whom else he may have exposed.
And the White House’s refusal to answer makes it hard not to wonder what they’re hiding, given other details they’ve shared.
Physician and professor of epidemiology at Harvard’s school of public health Michael Joseph Mina said: ‘At this point it’s just so strange that they’re unwilling to give us the information.
‘It makes people start thinking things like, “Was the president the super-spreader?” If there was no nefarious activity going on, then they should have no problem answering this question.’
The information is also key to tracking who else may have been exposed to the virus so their contacts can be traced to prevent new clusters of infection.
Meanwhile, the second debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was cancelled on Friday after the president rejected the suggestion it be held ‘virtually’ following his Covid-19 diagnosis.
Instead, Mr Trump made plans to resume in-person election campaigning with a speech to supporters at the White House on Saturday night followed by a rally in the must-win state of Florida on Monday.
