US President Donald Trump returned to the White House after leaving the military hospital where he was being treated for Covid-19. He staged a dramatic return as he entered the White House without a protective mask.
Wearing a white surgical mask, Donald Trump gave a thumbs-up and waved at reporters as he walked to the executive mansion from the helicopter that flew him back from the Walter Reed Medical Center outside Washington.
He then walked up the staircase of the White House South Portico, removed his mask, and posed for pictures, at times giving a thumbs-up and others a salute.
The president left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where his doctor, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley, said earlier Monday that the president remains contagious and would not be fully "out of the woods" for another week but that Trump had met or exceeded standards for discharge from the hospital. Trump is expected to continue his recovery at the White House, where the reach of the outbreak that has infected the highest levels of the US government is still being uncovered.
Felt "better" than he did "20 years ago"
Before leaving hospital, Trump had tweeted he felt "better" than he did "20 years ago" and urged people to not be afraid of the novel coronavirus.
The Republican president, running for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden in the November 3 US election, was admitted to the hospital on Friday after being diagnosed with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Trump's expected discharge raised new questions about how the administration was going to protect other officials from a disease that remains rampant in the president's body. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced she had tested positive for the coronavirus Monday morning and was entering quarantine.
