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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump made a dramatic return to the White House after leaving the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for Covid-19.
He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness, the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans, then entered the White House without a protective mask.
Trump’s message alarmed infectious disease experts and suggested that the president’s own illness had not prompted him to reconsider his often arrogant attitude toward the disease, which has also infected the first lady and several White House aides. including new cases revealed yesterday.
Landing at the White House on Marine One, Trump cautiously climbed the steps of the South Portico, removed his mask, and declared, “I feel fine.”
He gave a double thumbs-up to the helicopter departing from the porch deck, where aides had arranged the American flags for the evening occasion, and entered the White House, where aides were seen circling the Blue Room, uncovered face.
The president left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where his doctor, Navy Commander Sean Conley, said yesterday that the president is still contagious and would not be completely “out of the woods” for a week, but that Trump had met or exceeded discharge standards. From the hospital.
His recovery is expected to continue in the White House, where the scope of the outbreak that has infected the highest levels of the United States government is still being uncovered.
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020
Still, Trump indicated that he will not be prevented from campaigning for long, tweeting before leaving the hospital: “We will be back on the Campaign Trail soon !!!”
Trump emphasized sounding confident and tweeted: “I will leave the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 pm Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it rule your life. … I feel better than 20 years ago! “
His nonchalant message about not being afraid of the virus comes as his own administration has encouraged Americans to be very careful and take precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the disease as cases continue to rise across the country.
The comment surprised his rival for the presidency, who was campaigning in Florida yesterday.
“Say that to the 205,000 families that lost someone,” Joe Biden said.
The former vice president joined his remarks yesterday at an open-air town hall in Miami, where he criticized Trump for downplaying the masks.
“I hope the president, after he’s been through what he’s been through, and I’m glad it seems to be going pretty well, will deliver the right lesson to the American people: Masks matter,” Biden said.
That recommendation appeared to go unheeded as Trump launched a new, unfiltered message to Americans: “Don’t let it rule your life, get out, be careful,” Trump said in a tweeted video.
For more than eight months, Trump’s efforts to downplay the virus threat in hopes of propping up the economy ahead of the election have drawn bipartisan criticism.
“We have to be realistic on this: Covid is a total threat to the American population,” Dr. David Nace of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said of Trump’s comments.
Dr. Sadiya Khan of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said: “It is an inconceivable message.
“I would dare to say that it can precipitate or worsen the spread.”
There was also a political pushback to Trump’s attitude toward the virus.
Republican Senator John Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board that Trump had “let his guard down” “in his effort to show that the country was moving beyond the virus and created” confusion “about how to stay safe.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19 can be contagious to the largest number of people, and should be isolated for at least 10 days.
Trump’s dismissal raised new questions about how the administration was going to protect other officials from a disease that remains pervasive in the president’s body.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced that she had tested positive for the virus yesterday morning and was entering quarantine.
With AFP report
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