U.S. President Donald Trump, with bandages seen on his hand, takes off his face mask as he comes out on a White House balcony to speak to supporters gathered on the South Lawn in Washington, October 10, 2020.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
President Donald Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus “on consecutive days,” White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said Monday.
Conley, in a brief memo shared hours before Trump was scheduled to host a reelection campaign rally in Florida, said that the president’s Covid-19 results came from an antigen test from Abbott Laboratories.
But Conley’s memo noted that a variety of laboratory data all show the virus is no longer active in the president’s body.
“Repeatedly negative antigen tests, taken in context with additional clinical and laboratory data, including viral load, subgenomic RNA, and PCR cycle threshold measurements, as well as ongoing assessment of viral culture date, all indicate a lack of detectable viral replication,” Conley wrote.
Since Trump revealed on Oct. 2 that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus, the White House has consistently refused to answer when asked when the president last tested negative before his positive diagnosis.
Knowing when the president last tested negative could provide crucial information about when he was infected and by whom, as well as whom Trump may have exposed to the virus while he was contagious.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Read More: Trump tests negative for the coronavirus on consecutive days, White House doctor