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.
It is unclear who is in the Oval Office with him.
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.’
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.
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.
A Marine guard appeared in front of the West Wing Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office
Trump’s top physician said Wednesday the president is stable and has not experienced coronavirus symptoms for 24 hours.
In Dr. Sean Conley’s statement, he shared the president has 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 in the Wednesday morning health update that the president has not had a fever for four days and has not needed any supplemental oxygen since his initial hospitalization at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday.
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.
It appears, by way of updates from the president’s medical team, that Trump first started feeling ill on Friday, when a fever was detected and his oxygen fell below normal levels.
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.