US President Donald Trump removes his mask upon his return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)
US President Donald Trump returned to work in the Oval Office Wednesday, six days after testing positive for COVID-19, the White House said.
Trump spokesman Brian Morgenstern said the president was being briefed on economic stimulus negotiations and the progress of Hurricane Delta towards the US Gulf Coast.
The behavior of the president — who was hospitalized on Friday with COVID-19 and discharged on Monday — is under scrutiny as the number of positive cases continues to rise among people working at the White House.
His exit from the hospital, like much of his handling of the pandemic that has killed over 210,000 people in the US, sparked controversy.
Just after stepping off a helicopter at the White House, he climbed the stairs of his residence and pulled off his face mask.
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“Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it,” he urged Americans in his homecoming speech, referring to the virus.
US President Donald Trump gives thumbs up on the Blue Room Balcony upon returning to the White House Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Washington, after leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. Trump announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 2. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
By Wednesday, his doctors reported the president had been free of COVID-19 symptoms for 24 hours and has not had a fever in four days.
“The president this morning says ‘I feel great,'” doctor Sean Conley said in a brief update.
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Trump has vowed to return to campaigning shortly and to participate in the second presidential debate against opponent Joe Biden in Miami on October 15.
The president is confronted by dire polling numbers ahead of the November 3 election, which comes as the economy struggles to recover from COVID-19 shutdowns that have left countless families and businesses struggling.
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