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US President Donald Trump completed his treatment for Covid-19 and can return to his public engagements this weekend, his doctor said.
Dr. Sean Conley said the president had responded “extremely well” to the medication and had “been stable.”
Trump previously withdrew from next Thursday’s television debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden after organizers said it would have to be a virtual event.
The move sparked a discussion about how and when further discussions would take place.
In a memo released by the White House late Thursday, Dr. Conley said Trump was showing no signs “suggesting progression of the disease.”
“Saturday will be the 10th from [last] Thursday’s diagnosis, and based on the track record of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, fully anticipates the president’s safe return to public engagements at that time, “the memo added.
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Earlier, Dr. Conley said that if the president’s condition remained the same or improved over the weekend and Monday, “we will all breathe that last sigh of relief.”
And the presidential debates?
On Thursday, the commission that hosted the second presidential debate in Miami on Oct. 15 said it would have to be held remotely because Trump had tested positive for coronavirus.
In response, Trump said he was “not going to waste time in a virtual debate.”
At the moment, it appears that a debate could take place on October 22, although in what form remains to be seen.
The first presidential debate on September 29 was reduced to insults and interruptions. The vice-presidential debate, held Wednesday night between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, was a much more measured affair.
The US elections will be held on November 3. The latest opinion polls suggest that Biden has a single-digit lead nationally, but the outcome is often decided in battle states where races can be much closer.
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Six million votes have already been cast in early voting.
How did the dispute develop?
It began when the Presidential Debate Committee announced that the candidates would participate in the Miami debate “from separate remote locations … to protect the health and safety of all involved.”
This infuriated the president who, in a telephone interview with Fox Business Channel, said he was not prepared to “sit behind a computer, ridiculous.”
Joe Biden said the president “changed his mind every second” and his campaign team added that Trump “clearly does not want to face questions from voters.”
The Trump campaign responded, and manager Bill Stepien said the commission’s decision to “run to Joe Biden’s defense” was “pathetic,” adding that Trump would hold a rally on the same date.
Then Biden’s team proposed that the town hall-style debate, scheduled for Miami, should take place on October 22.
This brought a brief moment of agreement, at least on the date.
However, Trump’s team said there should be a third face-to-face debate, on October 29, just five days before the vote.
But Biden’s team said the debates could only be scheduled on the three dates already agreed: September 29, October 15 and October 22.
On October 15, Biden will now participate in his own primetime event on ABC answering questions from voters.
It is difficult to pin down what format any Biden-Trump debate now takes.
What else did Trump say on Fox?
Addressing the subject of his health, Trump said: “I am back because I am a perfect physical specimen.”
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He said he had stopped taking most of the “therapeutics” but was still taking steroids and would be retested for Covid “soon”.
But while his doctor has said he now has no symptoms, questions remain as to when the president was first infected and whether he could still be contagious.
And while the names of many people who interacted with the president and tested positive are now known, it is unclear how many were exposed in the White House. There, new Covid security measures are implemented.
One of the top Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said Thursday that he had not been in the White House since Aug. 6 because his approach to handling Covid with social distancing and masks was “different from mine. and what I suggested we do in the Senate. “
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Trump said Thursday that “someone came in and people got infected,” but did not elaborate.
A September 26 meeting to announce Trump’s election to the Supreme Court has been seen as a potential “over-broadcast” event, with several attendees known to have tested positive.