October 5 Trump Covid-19 news

By Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Steve George, Nick Thompson, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Amy Woodyatt, CNN

Updated 2:57 p.m. ET, November 23, 2020
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3:04 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Trump advisers urged him to stay in hospital as recently as this morning

From CNN's Jeremy Diamond 

President Trump’s advisers urged Trump not to check out of the hospital as recently as this morning, a source close to the White House tells CNN.

Even as Trump has told aides he feels better and is agitating to get out of the hospital, aides have encouraged Trump to stay, warning him of the bad optics if his condition were to worsen again requiring a second hospitalization.

“You don’t wanna come back,” is the message that’s been relayed to the President, this source said.

If Trump gets worse after returning to the White House, this source said: “That would be bad.”

“Bottom line is you can have good days and bad days. You could fool yourself into thinking you’re feeling better and you’re not,” the source said.

Trump tweeted Monday afternoon that he was leaving Walter Reed medical center at 6:30 p.m. ET and the White House press office confirmed he will be returning to the White House. 

2:41 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Trump says he'll leave Walter Reed tonight

President Trump just tweeted that he will be leaving Walter Reed medical center at 6:30 p.m. ET today.

"Felling really good!" he tweeted moments ago. "Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life."

Here's his full message:

2:19 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Trump's physician will provide an update soon

From CNN's Allie Malloy

The facade of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 4, 2020 in Bethesda, Maryland. 
The facade of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 4, 2020 in Bethesda, Maryland.  Samuel Corum/Getty Images

President Trump's physician Dr. Sean Conley will give a briefing in the 3 p.m. ET hour, according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere. 

2:22 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

CDC again updates guidance to say Covid-19 can spread by aerosol

From CNN's Jamie Gumbrecht

A person waits in line to be tested for COVID-19 at a city test site in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park on October 05, 2020 in New York City. 
A person waits in line to be tested for COVID-19 at a city test site in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park on October 05, 2020 in New York City.  Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has again updated its guidance about how Covid-19 spreads to include information about potential for airborne spread. 

“CDC continues to believe, based on current science, that people are more likely to become infected the longer and closer they are to a person with COVID-19,” the agency said in a statement on Monday. 

“Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area. In these instances, transmission occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise. Such environments and activities may contribute to the buildup of virus-carrying particles.”

Some background: Last month, the agency updated its guidance to say Covid-19 could spread through the air, then abruptly reverted to its previous guidance days later.

At the time, the agency said a draft version of proposed changes had been posted in error, and once the scientific review process was completed, the new language would be posted.

CDC said people can protect themselves from the coronavirus by staying six feet away from others, wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth, washing hands frequently, cleaning surfaces and staying home when sick.

2:30 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

DC mayor says administration has not had "substantial contact" with White House after outbreak

From CNN's Adrienne Winston

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser during a news conference on the Covid-19 situation in the District at Judiciary Square on Monday, September 28, 2020.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser during a news conference on the Covid-19 situation in the District at Judiciary Square on Monday, September 28, 2020. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP Images

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city's administration has not had "substantial contact" with the White House since the Covid-19 outbreak among staff and members of Congress.

She said that her administration has reached out to the White House on both a “political level and a public health level” but they have not received a response. 

“I recognize, you know, being as generous in this situation as I can be that a lot was going on and they have their hands full with a lot. But I believe that one of Dr. [LaQuandra] Nesbitt’s team had a very cursory conversation, that we don’t consider a substantial contact from the public health side,” Bowser said, “so we will continue that communication, those attempts.” 

She said the city's administration is concerned about the spread of the virus in general and that "scientifically justified protocols to contain the spread of the virus are being followed."

“That’s for DC residents, that’s for DC workers and that’s for also people on federal properties including the White House," Bowser said.

She added that “we have a mask mandate in our city for a reason. We limit large gatherings to fifty or fewer for a reason. We ask people to socially distance for a reason. We remind people to stay home if they are sick for a reason. And that applies to everybody.” 

1:39 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Trump is impatient to return to the White House, source says

From CNN's Dana Bash

President Trump, who is at Walter Reed medical center, is saying, “I need to get out of here," a source familiar with the President’s phone calls today tells CNN.

CNN is told that the President is being warned that, politically speaking, if he rushes to leave the hospital and then has a setback it would be really bad for him — not just health wise, but also for his campaign.

Overall, the President is sounding very upbeat and healthy on the phone, according to the same source.

2:12 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Trump acted recklessly attending Bedminster event, New Jersey governor says

From CNN's Julian Cummings

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. CNN

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that Trump was reckless by deciding to attend the Bedminster rally last Thursday after adviser Hope Hicks had tested positive for Covid-19.

“We continue to send out best wishes and prayers to the President, the First Lady and former Gov. Chris Christie and all that have tested positive over the weekend. This is not a matter of politics but a matter of humanity, but this is also a matter of leadership by example and it is clear that the President and his staff acted recklessly in the first place knowing they had been exposed to someone with a confirmed positive test,” Murphy said. 

The state of New Jersey says that all 206 people that attended the Bedminster fundraiser as well as an additional 19 staff members that worked at the event have been contacted. 

All of them have been urged to quarantine for 14 days and then to be tested no earlier than five to seven days after the event, which would mean attendees would begin being tested Tuesday at the earliest. 

“We certainly hope and pray fervently that no confirmed cases come out of the event in Bedminster,” Murphy said. 

Murphy also said that there are reports that suggest that rules regarding events in the state of New Jersey may not have been followed.

1:26 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Some staffers in the West Wing press area sent home to work remotely as a precaution

From CNN's Jim Acosta

Microphones are placed in front of the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Washington.
Microphones are placed in front of the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP

Given the positive test results in the White House press office, staffers in both upper and lower press areas of West Wing are working remotely from home as a precaution, a White House official tells CNN. 

Some essential workers are still at the White House, the official said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and two of her deputies tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday.

1:10 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

Two of White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's staffers test positive

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Kate Bennett

Chad Gilmartin, principal assistant White House press secretary, listens during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 22.
Chad Gilmartin, principal assistant White House press secretary, listens during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 22. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Two of White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's deputies, Chad Gilmartin and Karoline Leavitt, have also tested positive for coronavirus, two sources tell CNN.

Leavitt tested positive a few days ago and Gilmartin did within the last 24 hours, though the exact timing is unclear. 

Earlier today, McEnany confirmed that she had tested positive for Covid-19.

She said she is experiencing no symptoms and had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' testing positive before her briefing last Thursday. Hicks is one of President Trump's top aides.

McEnany said she will begin to quarantine.