Coronavirus USA live updates: summary and new - 6 october

Review of the mixed messages on Trump's health

The Washington Post has compiled a series of incomplete or contradictory statements about President Trump's coronavirus symptoms since his diagnosis first came to light last Friday...

Facebook bans all QAnon groups as dangerous amid surging misinformation

Facebook Inc on Tuesday classified the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and began removing Facebook groups and pages as well as Instagram accounts that hold themselves out as representatives.

The step escalates an August policy that banned a third of QAnon groups for promoting violence while allowing most to stay, albeit with content appearing less often in news feeds. Instead of relying on user reports, Facebook staff now will seek out and delete the groups and pages, the company said in a blog post. (Reuters)

McConnell backs Trump's decision to pull out of relief bill talks

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he agrees with President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of negotiations on a new coronavirus relief bill.

Asked if he backed Trump’s decision, McConnell said: “I think his view was that they were not going to produce a result and we need to concentrate on what’s achievable."

Trump has asked his negotiators to pull the plug on stimulus bill talks so they can focus on filling the Supreme Court position. 

A message for the president

The 'don't let is dominate your life' comment from the supposed leader of the free world was never a wise one.

I suppose it was said off the cuff though, and not in a tweet that could be edited and considered. What? Oh!

Watch this heartfelt response from Amanda Kloots. RIP Nick

Concern over Trump's week ahead

“For the next few days, I’d want him 50 feet away from an ICU, not a helicopter ride,” one leading doctor said.

Trump’s personal physician Sean Conley told the press that the president was in great shape, but doctors on the front lines of treating patients with Covid-19 told BuzzFeed News that it is still too early to assume that he is on a certain road to recovery. Months of clinical experience have shown that the disease sometimes flares up dangerously in the second week of symptoms, even in patients who had seemed to be doing well.

Peter Aldhous reports:

Coronavirus

Trump Rejects Covid-19 Relief Package

What next after Trump stops negotiations

As we've been reporting, President Donald Trump has told his negotiators in the coronavirus relief talks to stand down. Instead he wants them to focus on getting his Supreme Court justice in place, while Americans suffer financially to cope.

Will Gittens has had a look at the fallout.

Stimulus vs SCOTUS appointment

An overwhelming majority of voters believe the Senate should prioritize coronavirus relief over confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.

Seventy-four percent of registered voters in the 30 Sept - 1 Oct survey said the Senate should first pass a new Covid-19 relief bill.

By contrast, 26 percent of respondents said the Senate should confirm Barrett first.

Trump's steroids

Further Pelosi reaction reported from a call she was allegedly on, with two sources stating that she questioned the president's thinking after all that medication he's been on to treat the Covid-19 infection.

Nancy Pelosi responds to Trump decision

The Speaker of the House says the president has 'once again...put himself first'

Stock market didn't enjoy Trump comments

US stocks take a tumble after president says he has ordered an end to stimulus negotiations until after the election in November.

"STOCK MARKET UP BIG, 466 Points! 28,149. Great News for America. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!" - Donald Trump 22 hours ago

Trump cancels relief talks: reaction

Even if the president is re-elected, and if Republicans hold the Senate, AND if they take the House - the new congress isn't seated until January. If this holds, COVID relief/stimulus is now a long, long way off for Americans. - Garrett Haake NBC

For Trump, rushing through a Justice is more important than helping people who are unemployed, businesses that need aid, or keeping workers on the job. - Ronald Klain, Gen Counsel Obama/Biden

He thinks if he threatens Americans’ livelihoods by holding back aid unless he wins, they will be *more* likely to vote for him. Again, people don’t matter. Only Trump winning matters. - Adam Serwer, Staff Writer, TheAtlantic

Trump unilaterally ends stimulus talks

As millions of needy Americans await progress on further financial assistance during the pandemic, President Donald Trump has decided that it should be delayed further calling off negotiations with Democratic lawmakers until after the election.

This decision comes as cases of the virus are on the rise across much of the country before flu season.

'I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,' Trump wrote on Twitter a day after emerging from hospital stay for Covid-19 treatment.

There is absolutely no speculation being made anywhere that Trump is putting political tactics ahead of the wellbeing of his nation...again.

Twitter voids Trump touchdown against Covid-19

The campaign tweeted a video of the San Francisco 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk leaping over a Philadelphia Eagles defender on his way to scoring a touchdown during Sunday’s game between the two teams.

The campaign superimposed Trump’s head on Aiyuk’s body (an unkind comparison: unlike the president, Aiyuk is not clinically obese) with Covid-19 as the Eagles defender. The fact that nearly three million other Americans have overcome the illness to date appears to have escaped them.

Full story brought to you by the Guardian.

White House source calls Trump 'selfish'

"It's insane that he would return to the White House and jeopardize his staff's health when we are still learning of new cases among senior staff. This place is a cesspool."

"He was so concerned with preventing embarrassing stories that he exposed thousands of his own staff and supporters to a deadly virus. He has kept us in the dark, and now our spouses and kids have to pay the price. It's just selfish."

Axios' Alayna Treene, Alexi McCammond and Mike Allen look at the risks faced as President Trump considers returning to Oval Office duties. With Trump's return, risks rise in the West Wing

Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the flu. Are we going to close down our Country?

No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!

Trump keen to get out and about

Some of Trump’s aides don’t want the restless president to leave the White House residence but are unsure how long he’ll continue to isolate himself, the people said. He has not yet gone to the West Wing and it’s not clear if he will.

Trump is also considering a televised address to the nation, another person said, and his physician released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying the president reported “no symptoms” of the disease after a “restful first night at home.”

'Rise in White House-linked cases not impacting US government' says infected White House official

The rise in Covid-19 cases at the White House is not disrupting the functioning of the US government, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday, as media outlets reported two more White House staffers have tested positive for the disease.

Asked if the spread of the novel coronavirus among staff in the Trump administration and Republican US senators was harming the federal government's ability to function, McEnany told Fox Business Network in an interview: 'Not in the slightest.' 'We are regularly meeting,' although some staff must attend remotely, she said. 'We move forward.'

Meanwhile, two more White House staffers have tested positive for Covid-19, US news outlets reported on Tuesday, one day after President Donald Trump returned to the White House after being hospitalized with the highly contagious disease. One of Trump's valets, an active member of the US military who traveled with the president last week, has the novel coronavirus, a Bloomberg News reporter said on Twitter, citing unnamed sources.

Bloomberg, CNN and NBC also reported that a military aide to Trump has Covid-19. So far, there are at least 16 cases among White House staff and recent visitors to the complex, including McEnany. Several journalists covering the White House have also tested positive. Several White House staffers also contracted the disease earlier this year. Separately, the Pentagon on Tuesday said US military service chiefs and other top military leaders were in quarantine after the US Coast Guard said its No. 2 official tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend.

Even his biggest critics are now calling Donald Trump 'super'... well, at least when it comes to coronavirus spreading!

Bill Gates live!

If you'd like to hear some of the things Mr Gates has to say about the global pandemic then tune in now.

FDA asks Covid-19 vaccine developers for two months of safety data

The US Food and Drug Administration has told coronavirus vaccine developers that it will need at least two months of safety data after a full vaccination regime to review applications for emergency-use authorization of an experimental vaccine.

The agency's advice was released on Tuesday as part of documents posted ahead of a meeting of its expert panel later this month to discuss coronavirus vaccines under development.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech gave the median patient in their 44,000-volunteer trial the second dose of their vaccine, which is considered a leading candidate in the race for a coronavirus vaccine, in late September.

If the FDA follows the advice released on Tuesday, it would not likely authorize the vaccine before sometime in late November.

The agency's staff also wrote that the FDA expects to hold separate meetings of its vaccine advisory committee before issuing an emergency-use authorization for any experimental shot.

There is no approved vaccine yet for the coronavirus in the United States.

(Reuters)

US Election 2020

Vice Presidential debate: who are Mike Pence and Kamala Harris?

Vice Presidential debate: who are Mike Pence and Kamala Harris?

In an event that will be subject to tightened safety measures in the wake of President Trump's positive Covid-19 test, Republican Vice-President Mike Pence and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris face off in their only pre-election debate on Wednesday.

Coronavirus

Trump still suffering: short of breath

Trump still struggling

Trump produced a carefully choreographed video of what he clearly thought was a triumphant return to the White House, but in this video of him on the balcony at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue he can clearly be seen breathing with difficulty, with medical experts pointing out he's using his neck muscles in a bid to draw in sufficient air. 

Trump poses maskless at the White House

Having been hospitalized for three days with Covid-19, President Donald Trump removes his mask to pose for photographers on his return to the White House on Monday. Given that Trump remains contagious and had staff close by at the time, the US president's actions have sparked fierce criticism.

 "I could not imagine a greater act of selfishness by a human being, let alone the president of the United States, who is supposed to protect us," said Neera Tanden, the president of the think tank the Center for American Progress, in an interview with MSNBC. "He’s doing the opposite, he’s endangering people around him.” 

(Photo: WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Trump tweets false claim about "far less lethal" coronavirus

Fresh from telling Americans not to be afraid of the coronavirus in the wake of his release from hospital, Donald Trump has now made the untrue claim that Covid-19 is "in most populations far less lethal" than the flu.

"Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu," Trump tweeted. "Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!"

The president's tweet contradicts his own remarks to Bob Woodward earlier this year, when he told the investigative journalist that Covid-19 is "deadly stuff" and up to five times more lethal than the flu. He also told Woodward that the virus poses a major threat to those of all ages. 

"It's not just old, older [people]," Trump said. "Young people too, plenty of young people."

According to guidance issued by the World Health Organization in March, the mortality rate for seasonal influenza is "usually well below 0.1%". Meanwhile, the latest coronavirus figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University show 1,044,882 deaths from 35,533,953 cases - a 2.9% fatality rate.

Given that the actual number of worldwide Covid-19 cases is likely to be much higher than that, however, scientists estimate that the true coronavirus mortality rate is somewhere between 0.5% and 1%.

CORONAVIRUS USA

Donald Trump leaves hospital: Is it risky to return to the White House?

Donald Trump leaves hospital: Is it risky to return to the White House?

After three days of treatment at hospital President Trump is on his way back to the White House where an outbreak is in progress with Kayleigh McEnany the latest testing positive for Covid-19.

Nearly 4 million Americans have already voted, suggesting record election turnout

​​​​​​Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the November election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden.

With four weeks to go before Election Day Nov. 3, more than 3.8 million Americans already have voted, far surpassing about 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the U.S. Elections Project, which compiles early voting data.

The shift has been driven by an expansion of early and mail-in voting in many states as a safe way to cast a ballot during the coronavirus pandemic and an eagerness to weigh in on the political future of Trump, said Michael McDonald of the University of Florida, who administers the project.

"We've never seen this many people voting so far ahead of an election," McDonald said

Pence-Harris VP debate to draw outsized attention after Trump's coronavirus diagnosis

This week's vice presidential debate has taken on an outsized and perhaps unprecedented significance, with questions about President Donald Trump's health now looming over the U.S. election less than a month away.

Vice President Mike Pence's sole face-off against Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden’s running mate, on Wednesday in Salt Lake City comes as the Trump campaign reels from a Covid-19 outbreak that has infected not only the Republican president but several in his inner circle.

The pressure on Pence, who often toils in Trump’s deep shadow, is great. Trump trails Biden by 10 percentage points nationally, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with voters faulting what they viewed as the president's carelessness about the pandemic.

Breathing with face mask does not alter oxygen level

Breathing with face masks does not affect the lungs .The average face mask may be uncomfortable but does not limit the flow of oxygen to the lungs, even in people with severe lung diseases, researchers say. They tested the effect of wearing surgical masks on gas exchange - the process by which the body adds oxygen to the blood while removing carbon dioxide - in 15 healthy physicians and 15 military veterans with severely impaired lungs via a quick paced six-minute walk on a flat, hard surface.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood were measured before and after the walking test. Neither the healthy doctors nor the patients with diseased lungs showed any major changes in gas exchange measurements after the walking test or up to 30 minutes later.

White House blocking strict guidelines for emergency release of coronavirus

White House officials are blocking new federal guidelines for the emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine, including one that would likely ensure that no vaccine could be authorized before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration submitted the guidelines to the Office of Management and Budget more than two weeks ago, but they stalled with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the Times reported, citing people familiar with the approval process.

An administration official told Reuters that the approval vaccine process was still pending and denied any Election Day connection.

U.S. Senate panel announces Oct. 12 Supreme Court confirmation

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee announced on Monday that it would open a confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, on Oct. 12, making clear that an outbreak of Covid-19 will not interfere with the schedule.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee's chairman, announced that the hearing would start at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Oct 12.

Trump urges Americans to 'get out there' after return from hospital

President Donald Trump emerged on Monday from four days in a U.S. military hospital where he was treated for COVID-19 with a video message to Americans to "get out there" and not be afraid of coronavirus.

Though his doctors said he still was not "out of the woods," Trump appeared maskless and defiant in a video released shortly after he returned to the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center.

"Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it," Trump said. "We're going back, we're going back to work. We're going to be out front. ... Don't let it dominate your lives. Get out there, be careful."

Stock markets higher as Trump returns to White House

Asia's stock markets edged higher on Tuesday, cautiously adding to gains made with an improvement in both U.S. President Donald Trump's health and prospects for a U.S. stimulus package, while bonds and the dollar nursed losses.

Trump returned to the White House on Monday after a three-night hospital stay for treatment for Covid-19 and said he felt "real good".

Trump faces backlash for removing mask on return to White

U.S. President Donald Trump faced a fresh backlash on Tuesday for removing his mask when he returned to the White House and urging Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease that has killed more than 209,000 people in the country and put him in hospital.

Trump arrived at the White House on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle in which he descended from his Marine One helicopter wearing a white surgical mask only to remove it as he posed, saluting and waving, on the mansion's South Portico.

"Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it," Trump said in a video after his return from the Walter Reed Medical Center military hospital outside Washington where he was treated for the disease caused by the coronavirus.

As COVID-19 has hit plastic recycling, big oil is investing $400 billion over the next 5 years to make new plastic

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for about an hour on Monday about coronavirus relief, Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill wrote on Twitter.

After crushing their COVID-19 outbreaks in the spring and keeping them in check all summer, states in the U.S. Northeast are now seeing infections accelerate, with New York reporting nearly 10,000 new cases last week.

President Donald Trump told Americans “to get out there” and not fear COVID-19 as he returned to the White House on Monday after a three-night hospital stay to be treated for the virus and removed his white surgical mask to pose for pictures.

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Teams found violating COVID-19 safety protocols may be forced to forfeit games, the NFL said on Monday, as it ramped up rules designed to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

CORONAVIRUS USA

Donald Trump leaves hospital: Is it risky to return to the White House?

Trump's return to duty: a wise decision?

Pushed on whether he was letting the President return to the White House too early, Dr Conley said that there is a full medical unit where he can be observed and cared for 24/7, Greg Heilman reports for us.

Conley also said that “we try to get patients home as quickly as is safe and possible,” adding that, “everyday a patient is in the hospital unnecessarily is a risk to themselves.”

Asked if the President had put pressure on the team to release him early he stated that Trump “has never pushed us.”

Full story:

Trump's desperation could prove very dangerous

He really, really wanted to get out of there. And now he has, despite still being contagious with a deadly disease.

Many students of Trump’s life and career have warned that he would be prepared to sacrifice anyone – even those closest to him – to spare himself the humiliation of a one-term presidency, but even they surely could not have anticipated how literal that sacrifice would be.

A look at how this cavalier approach may spell trouble for more than just Trump.

Playing it down again may not go so well

'He’s won his discharge, even though his doctor concedes he “isn’t out of the woods yet.” None of us—journalists, politicians, infectious disease experts, news consumers—can judge the wisdom of sending him home—because there is so much we don’t know about his health status.

'Instead of giving us the straight truth, Trump, his doctors, and his aides have buttered and sugared his condition to make it sound like he’s the healthiest man in sickbay.'

Jack Shafer gives his opinion on this incredible turn of events.

Trump's return to the White House

Just a few moments ago, the president returned to the White House where he walked across the lawn, up the stairs and then stood and saluted Marine One as it flew off.

Here is the footage of the planned photo op.

The VP pre-debate on safety precautions

Plexiglass is expected to be used as a barrier between Vice President Mike Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris in Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, as well as between the two candidates and moderator Susan Page.

And these plans have the support of the Cleveland Clinic, which is helping to set health protocols for the forums amid the pandemic.

But, as Politico have been reporting, the two camps were split over whether to erect a plexiglass barrier, according to people familiar with the talks. Harris' campaign supported it, Pence's opposed it.

“If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” said Katie Miller, a Pence spokeswoman.

NFL teams risk forfeits for coronavirus violations

Following guidelines through a pandemic can be pretty important and teams found violating Covid-19 safety protocols may be forced to forfeit games, the NFL said on Monday, as it ramped up rules designed to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell instructed teams to 'recommit' to safety protocols in a memo obtained by Reuters after positive tests forced the postponement of two Week 4 games.

'Protocol violations that result in virus spread requiring adjustments to the schedule or otherwise impacting other teams will result in additional financial and competitive discipline, including the adjustment or loss of draft choices or even the forfeit of a game,' said Goodell. 'Simply put, compliance is mandatory.'

The memo outlined changes to the league's protocol, including bans on gatherings outside of club facilities, a limit to the number of tryouts allowed each week and an extended 'onboarding process' for tryouts among free agents. The league is implementing a video monitoring system to ensure compliance with the protocols - particularly the mandate that all staff and players wear protective gear such as face masks while in a club facility and traveling.

What risk does Trump pose (just Covid related)?

We must remember that although the president has been allowed back to the White House, from everything we know he is still contagious with the novel coronavirus.

He was diagnosed on Friday. The CDC guidelines state 10 days of isolation. It's Monday.

Check out this rather concerning timeline from The Lincoln Project:

Trump has left the building

Here is a short clip from CNBC where you'll hear one optimistic journalist hope to get an answer to the question: "Do you think you may be a super-spreader, Mr President?"

Always worth a try.

Trump leaves hospital

As he told us earlier, at 18:38 President Donald Trump departed from the Walter Reed Medical Center where he has spent the weekend and is returning to the White House.

After his almost customary thumbs up and first pumps to onlookers, he jumped into a waiting car and headed off to Marine One. We'll bring you footage shortly.

Campaign coming

More tweeting from Trump, who's now 20 years younger than last week if you haven't heard.

'Invincible hero'

As we await the appearance of the president, he has a little time for some more modest tweeting.

Biden campaigns in crucial Florida

As President Donald Trump announced he would leave a military hospital on Monday after three days of Covid-19 treatment, challenger Joe Biden attacked the president for downplaying the seriousness of the disease even after contracting it.

'Now that he's busy tweeting campaign messages, I would ask him to do this: listen to the scientists,' Biden said during a campaign speech in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. 'Support masks.' Biden, the Democratic former vice president, also spoke in the city's Little Haiti neighborhood and planned to appear at a NBC News town hall in the evening from Miami. Florida is seen as a must-win for Trump's re-election campaign, which has almost no path to victory if he fails to collect the state's crucial 29 Electoral College votes.

'Folks, if we win Florida, you've won,' Biden told a group of Haitian Americans. 'You've flat won.'

Covid-19 cases surge in Midwest and Northeast

After crushing their Covid-19 outbreaks in the spring and keeping them in check all summer, states in the US Northeast are now seeing infections accelerate, with New York reporting nearly 10,000 new cases last week, Lisa Shumaker reports for Reuters.

Compared with the previous seven days, new cases in New York rose 102% in the week ended 4 October, while new cases in Connecticut rose 61% to 1,710 and new cases in New Jersey rose 23% to 4,650, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.

Still, the percentage of tests in the Northeast that were coming back positive for the novel coronavirus remains very low, mostly in the 1%-2% range. The Midwest continues to deal with the highest number of new cases per capita, with North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin reporting the largest number of new cases per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks. Health officials have long said they were worried that colder weather -- which is now hitting the Midwest and Northeast -- would increase outbreaks as more activities move indoors. Nationally, more than 300,000 Americans tested positive for the novel coronavirus last week, down 4% from the prior week, as total cases in the country approach 7.5 million.

Some of the national decrease was due to Texas, which two weeks ago reported thousands of backlogged cases. New cases have risen for at least two weeks in a row in 21 states, though deaths from Covid-19 have generally declined for the past seven weeks. Still, more than 5,000 lives were lost last week, and deaths are a lagging indicator that generally rises weeks after a surge in cases.

For a second week in a row, testing set a record high, with on average 935,000 tests conducted each day last week, according to data from The Covid Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak. For the first time since mid-June, the percentage of tests that came back positive for the virus was under the 5% threshold that the World Health Organization has said is concerning. Four states had positive rates over 20%: Idaho, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The missing information stokes the flames of doubt

As we said earlier, a variety of questions asked by journalists were plainly not answered. For some, privacy reasons could be pointed to, but for most this was not an excuse.

By continued avoidance, all that the White House is doing is leaving a vacuum to be filled by others. It's not a good look, and definitely suggests there is something to hide. If not, the answers were simple.

Dr Conley dodges numerous questions but says Trump "is back"

The president may have got his tweet out first, but his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, came out to questions, many of which he chose not to 'get into'.

Conley spoke very positively about Donald Trump saying that he met or exceeded all standard hospital criteria to be discharged, and while he is not yet out of the woods, he is able to go home,

'Over the past 24 hours ... he's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria,' Conley told a news conference, saying it had been more than 72 hours since Trump's last fever and that his oxygen levels were normal.

'Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations, and most importantly, his clinical status, support the president's safe return home, where he will be surrounded by world-class medical care 24/7.'

Trump tweets his hospital discharge

The president has tweeted that he will be leaving Walter Reed later today.

As well as this he told Americans not to be afraid of the virus that has so far killed over 200,000 of his compatriots. He also said that the drugs and knowledge available to Trump at one of the world's top medical centres appears to have rejuvenated him by two decades.

We're checking if that treatment is ready for every other American that contracts Covid-19 so that they don't need to let it dominate their lives. We may be a while...

31 cases from White House events

Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, attended the Prayer March on the Mall and Supreme Court nomination event on the same day.

As Eric goes on to say in the thread, 'they are all testing positive now because the typical incubation time range of ~2-14 days is hitting right smack in the middle of that range from that previous weekend of SCOTUS nomination event.'

Covid vs Trump: who comes off worse?

Congressman Matt Gaetz had his own version of Trump-eting on social media today.

Looking at the replies, however, many of those who read it may have taken his intended meaning the wrong way...

Presidential health secrecy

Wilson, FDR, JFK and Reagan. Just some of the US presidents looked at by Ron Elving for NPR as doubts continue over the veracity of Trump's medical reports.

"None of opaqueness should come as surprise, though. Few occasions of historical importance have been so shrouded in secrecy — and even outright deception — as the health emergencies of world leaders. The U.S. may have been more transparent about these events than most countries, but, even here, the truth has only come to light over time.

'This is one precedent this president is following,' says Barbara Perry, director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center."

Read all about them in 'Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis Recalls History Of Secrecy On Presidential Health'

Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke by phone on coronavirus aid

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for about an hour on Monday about coronavirus relief, Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill wrote on Twitter.

'The two discussed the justifications for various numbers and plan to exchange paper today in preparation for another phone call tomorrow,' Hammill wrote.

US coronavirus latest news 

Hello and welcome to our daily-refreshed, US-focused coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, which right now has a particular eye on events surrounding recently-infected President Trump.

Worldwide there have now been over 35 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with over one million deaths. 

In the US, there have been more than 7.4 million cases and we've tragically passed 210,000 deaths.