Trump tests negative for COVID-19, is not infectious: White House physician

[October 13, 2020]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 and he is not infectious to others, the White House physician said on Monday, 10 days after Trump announced he had contracted the coronavirus.

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 for a campaign rally that the White House is calling a "peaceful protest" in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

In a memo released by the White House just hours before Trump was due to resume holding campaign rallies, Dr. Sean Conley said the president had tested negative on consecutive days using an Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW antigen card.

Conley said the negative tests and other clinical and laboratory data "indicate a lack of detectable viral replication."

Trump's medical team had determined that based on the data and guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "the president is not infectious to others," Conley said.

Trump returns to the campaign trail on Monday night with a rally in Sanford, Florida, his first since he disclosed on Oct. 2 that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Critics fault Trump for failing to encourage supporters at campaign events, and even White House staff, to wear protective masks and abide by social-distancing guidelines. At least 11 close Trump aides have tested positive for the coronavirus.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)

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