theguardian--2020-10-02--Hicks, hubris and not a lot of masks: the week Trump caught Covid

Donald Trump ’ s presidency has been full of plot surprises .
But no single tweet has had the same meteor-like impact as the one sent by the president shortly before 1am on Friday morning .
It felt like a season finale moment .
“ Overnight , @ FlOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19 , ” Trump wrote .
He added , in matter-of-fact style : “ We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately .
We will get through this TOGETHER !
” .
The announcement was astonishing .
And yet – seen through the timeline of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears wholly unremarkable and perhaps even cosmically inevitable .
In recent days the president has behaved with the same reckless disregard for public health rules that has characterised his response since January to the global coronavirus pandemic .
Viewed with hindsight , his meetings during the last week look ill-judged , to say the least .
On Saturday the president appeared in the Rose Garden to announce his choice for the supreme court nomination , Amy Coney Barrett .
Trump appeared on stage with Barrett and her family .
Around 200 people watched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican senator Mike Lee of Utah .
Another was the president of University of Notre Dame , John Jenkins .
Jenkins sat without a mask .
Lee had a mask but held it loosely in his hand as he got up afterwards and hugged friends .
Both men subsequently tested positive for the virus , in what now looks to be a super-spreader event .
On Monday , Trump came back to the Rose Garden .
He announced new measures to distribute Covid-19 test kits to US states – to defeat what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
The president was upbeat .
He confidently predicted the pandemic would soon be over .
“ We ’ re rounding the corner , ” he declared .
His audience was made up of members of Congress and state officials .
Few wore masks .
Neither did Trump or the vice-president Mike Pence , who followed the president to the podium .
Other administration officials who were present included the health secretary , Alex M Azar , and the education secretary , Betsy DeVos .
Earlier , Trump inspected a truck on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ohio .
On Tuesday , Trump was preparing for his first televised debate with Joe Biden , his Democratic challenger .
These practice sessions took place in the West Wing of the White House .
As the Washington press corps has frequently noted , masks are rarely seen inside the White House building .
It was almost as if this area of executive power had been deemed off limits to the virus – a fantasy that would soon prove to be spectacularly wrong .
Later on Tuesday , Trump boarded Air Force One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With him was a large entourage .
It included members of the Trump family : his wife Melania , adult children and senior staff .
Also there was his trusted aide , 31-year-old Hope Hicks .
Since joining his campaign in early 2015 , Hicks was often at Trump ’ s side .
She returned to his administration in spring , following an earlier spell as press secretary .
None of the entourage were seen wearing masks while getting off the plane .
Hicks was spotted climbing into a staff van together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s campaign manager , the New York Times reported .
Those onboard included the campaign strategist Jason Miller , the White House chief of staff , Mark Meadows , and policy adviser Stephen Miller .
Inside the debate hall , the two candidates were placed some distance apart .
It was a rancorous and horrible night , memorable for Trump talking over his rival .
One moment now stands out .
Onstage in Cleveland , Trump mocked Biden for his habit of wearing a mask in public .
“ I think masks are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointed out that both candidates had been tested for the virus , just before their TV clash , adding : “ I put a mask on when I think I need it.
” And then Trump went on the attack .
Speaking to Biden directly , Trump suggested his rival ’ s precautions were over the top .
And ridiculous : “ I don ’ t wear a mask like him .
Every time you see him , he ’ s got a mask .
He could be speaking 200ft away from them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask I ’ ve ever seen.
” To emphasis his point , Trump spread his arms .
Biden , who was in close proximity to Trump for 90 minutes , received a negative Covid test result on Friday afternoon .
Trump ’ s family watched from the audience .
None wore masks .
This show of support for the president was – it seemed - transgressive .
And in clear breach of host rules , which called for blue surgical masks to be worn .
A Cleveland clinic doctor in a white lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family guests , offering a mask .
She was unsuccessful .
Someone shook their head at her as she came close , according to a press pool report .
On the flight back to Washington DC , Jared Kushner chatted with colleagues , again maskless ; on the tarmac Trump ’ s daughter-in-law Lara Trump shared an umbrella with Kimberly Guilfoyle , Donald Trump Jr ’ s girlfriend .
But it was Wednesday that turned out to be the most consequential moment of the 2020 US election .
Trump carried on with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the home of a private donor in Minneapolis – and then a rally in Duluth .
Everything was as normal : warm-up music for the closely packed crowds waiting for the president , followed by the theatrical arrival of Air Force One .
Trump emerged , looking solemn .
He waved at his supporters .
Arriving on stage , he threw a couple of “ Maga ” baseball caps into the audience behind him .
And then he embarked on his usual stump speech : how he had “ won big ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , and how he would put America first during his second White House term .
Curious observers might have noticed that he wrapped up early , leaving after just 45 minutes .
Behind the scenes , something was wrong .
Hicks had accompanied Trump on his trip to Minneapolis .
By this point she was feeling unwell .
Her symptoms were ominous : likely a cough , or headache , or both .
On the journey home , Hicks was isolated in a separate part of the cabin .
When it landed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plane .
Up until Wednesday , the president ’ s behaviour might be defended .
After all , Hicks had cut herself off from other White House staff as soon as she fell sick .
Over the next 24 hours , however , Trump continued as if nothing had happened .
It was a remarkable act of hubris that may have caused the virus to spread .
Key members of his administration also failed to isolate .
On Thursday , Hicks tested positive .
The news went through the White House like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once prevailed .
Amid dismay , and one imagines fear , White House staff began wearing masks .
News of Hicks ’ s diagnosis was not made public .
The hope among senior staff was this might be kept secret .
The mood was one of growing panic , according to reports .
Meanwhile , some of Trump ’ s closest aides said they had sensed on Wednesday that Trump was feeling poorly .
They put this down to tiredness caused by an intense campaign schedule .
The president had seemed exhausted , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg .
Apparently unconcerned , Trump flew to his Bedminister golf resort in New Jersey for a private fundraising event .
Several aides who had been in close proximity to Hicks were due to go with him .
They cancelled .
At the golf club , Trump made a speech and mingled with supporters at a roundtable .
As usual , he was not wearing a mask .
The White House press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , who had been with Hicks on Wednesday , did not use a face covering when briefing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later on Thursday , after returning to the White House .
For a little while longer it was business as usual .
The president gave a telephone interview to Fox News ’ s Sean Hannity .
Speaking from his residence , he sounded a little raspy .
Trump explained that he and the first lady were both being tested for coronavirus .
The result – delivered via Twitter early on Friday – came when much of America was asleep .
Over the past nine months Trump has sought to diminish the significance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 200,000 Americans , and more than 1 million people worldwide .
He has mostly spurned social distancing .
For a long time he downplayed the importance of wearing masks .
As caseloads have risen , Trump has pushed for states to reopen their economies .
The president even blithely predicted the “ virus ” would disappear , as if by magic .
It didn ’ t .
And now Trump has become its most famous victim .

Donald Trump’s presidency has been full of plot surprises. But no single tweet has had the same meteor-like impact as the one sent by the president shortly before 1am on Friday morning. It felt like a season finale moment. “Overnight, @FlOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Trump wrote. He added, in matter-of-fact style: “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”.
The announcement was astonishing. And yet – seen through the timeline of Trump’s recent activities – it appears wholly unremarkable and perhaps even cosmically inevitable. In recent days the president has behaved with the same reckless disregard for public health rules that has characterised his response since January to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Viewed with hindsight, his meetings during the last week look ill-judged, to say the least. On Saturday the president appeared in the Rose Garden to announce his choice for the supreme court nomination, Amy Coney Barrett. Trump appeared on stage with Barrett and her family. Around 200 people watched.
One person at the ceremony was Republican senator Mike Lee of Utah. Another was the president of University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins. Jenkins sat without a mask. Lee had a mask but held it loosely in his hand as he got up afterwards and hugged friends. Both men subsequently tested positive for the virus, in what now looks to be a super-spreader event.
On Monday, Trump came back to the Rose Garden. He announced new measures to distribute Covid-19 test kits to US states – to defeat what he referred to as the “China virus”. The president was upbeat. He confidently predicted the pandemic would soon be over. “We’re rounding the corner,” he declared.
Donald Trump speaks about his coronavirus testing strategy from the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
His audience was made up of members of Congress and state officials. Few wore masks. Neither did Trump or the vice-president Mike Pence, who followed the president to the podium. Other administration officials who were present included the health secretary, Alex M Azar, and the education secretary, Betsy DeVos. Earlier, Trump inspected a truck on the south lawn and met manufacturers from Ohio.
On Tuesday, Trump was preparing for his first televised debate with Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger. These practice sessions took place in the West Wing of the White House. As the Washington press corps has frequently noted, masks are rarely seen inside the White House building. It was almost as if this area of executive power had been deemed off limits to the virus – a fantasy that would soon prove to be spectacularly wrong.
Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, board Air Force One on Tuesday as they depart Washington to participate in the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
Later on Tuesday, Trump boarded Air Force One en route to the debate in Ohio. With him was a large entourage. It included members of the Trump family: his wife Melania, adult children and senior staff. Also there was his trusted aide, 31-year-old Hope Hicks. Since joining his campaign in early 2015, Hicks was often at Trump’s side. She returned to his administration in spring, following an earlier spell as press secretary.
None of the entourage were seen wearing masks while getting off the plane. Hicks was spotted climbing into a staff van together with Bill Stepien, the president’s campaign manager, the New York Times reported. Those onboard included the campaign strategist Jason Miller, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and policy adviser Stephen Miller.
From left, pictured before the start of the presidential debate: Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, campaign adviser and wife of Eric Trump Lara Trump, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Inside the debate hall, the two candidates were placed some distance apart. It was a rancorous and horrible night, memorable for Trump talking over his rival. One moment now stands out. Onstage in Cleveland, Trump mocked Biden for his habit of wearing a mask in public. “I think masks are OK,” Trump said. He pointed out that both candidates had been tested for the virus, just before their TV clash, adding: “I put a mask on when I think I need it.”
And then Trump went on the attack. Speaking to Biden directly, Trump suggested his rival’s precautions were over the top. And ridiculous: “I don’t wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200ft away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.” To emphasis his point, Trump spread his arms. Biden, who was in close proximity to Trump for 90 minutes, received a negative Covid test result on Friday afternoon.
First lady Melania Trump and the president look on as Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, hugs his wife, Jill Biden, after the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday. Photograph: Morry Gash/AFP/Getty Images
Trump’s family watched from the audience. None wore masks. This show of support for the president was – it seemed - transgressive. And in clear breach of host rules, which called for blue surgical masks to be worn. A Cleveland clinic doctor in a white lab coat had even tried to approach Trump family guests, offering a mask. She was unsuccessful. Someone shook their head at her as she came close, according to a press pool report.
On the flight back to Washington DC, Jared Kushner chatted with colleagues, again maskless; on the tarmac Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump shared an umbrella with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr’s girlfriend.
Hope Hicks, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, and other White House and campaign officials at Andrews Air Force base. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
But it was Wednesday that turned out to be the most consequential moment of the 2020 US election. Trump carried on with his campaign activities. There was a fundraiser at the home of a private donor in Minneapolis – and then a rally in Duluth. Everything was as normal: warm-up music for the closely packed crowds waiting for the president, followed by the theatrical arrival of Air Force One.
Trump emerged, looking solemn. He waved at his supporters. Arriving on stage, he threw a couple of “Maga” baseball caps into the audience behind him. And then he embarked on his usual stump speech: how he had “won big” in his debate with “Sleepy Joe”, and how he would put America first during his second White House term. Curious observers might have noticed that he wrapped up early, leaving after just 45 minutes.
Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Duluth International airport in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
Behind the scenes, something was wrong. Hicks had accompanied Trump on his trip to Minneapolis. By this point she was feeling unwell. Her symptoms were ominous: likely a cough, or headache, or both. On the journey home, Hicks was isolated in a separate part of the cabin. When it landed she exited from the back of the plane.
Up until Wednesday, the president’s behaviour might be defended. After all, Hicks had cut herself off from other White House staff as soon as she fell sick. Over the next 24 hours, however, Trump continued as if nothing had happened. It was a remarkable act of hubris that may have caused the virus to spread. Key members of his administration also failed to isolate.
On Thursday, Hicks tested positive. The news went through the White House like a bomb-blast, shattering the complacency that had once prevailed. Amid dismay, and one imagines fear, White House staff began wearing masks. News of Hicks’s diagnosis was not made public. The hope among senior staff was this might be kept secret. The mood was one of growing panic, according to reports.
Meanwhile, some of Trump’s closest aides said they had sensed on Wednesday that Trump was feeling poorly. They put this down to tiredness caused by an intense campaign schedule. The president had seemed exhausted, one person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.
Trump steps off Marine One on his way to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force base on Thursday. From there he flies to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey for a private fundraiser. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Apparently unconcerned, Trump flew to his Bedminister golf resort in New Jersey for a private fundraising event. Several aides who had been in close proximity to Hicks were due to go with him. They cancelled. At the golf club, Trump made a speech and mingled with supporters at a roundtable. As usual, he was not wearing a mask. The White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who had been with Hicks on Wednesday, did not use a face covering when briefing reporters.
Trump was tested for Covid-19 later on Thursday, after returning to the White House. For a little while longer it was business as usual. The president gave a telephone interview to Fox News’s Sean Hannity. Speaking from his residence, he sounded a little raspy. Trump explained that he and the first lady were both being tested for coronavirus. The result – delivered via Twitter early on Friday – came when much of America was asleep.
Over the past nine months Trump has sought to diminish the significance of the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans, and more than 1 million people worldwide. He has mostly spurned social distancing. For a long time he downplayed the importance of wearing masks. As caseloads have risen, Trump has pushed for states to reopen their economies. The president even blithely predicted the “virus” would disappear, as if by magic.
It didn’t. And now Trump has become its most famous victim.


theguardian--2020-10-03--Nancy Pelosi says Trump illness 'sad' but criticises pandemic response – video

The Democratic House speaker said on MSNBC that Donald Trump ’ s announcement early on Friday that he and his @ @ @ @ @ tested positive for Covid-19 was 'very sad ' .
She added , however , that @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic were ' a brazen invitation for something like this to happen' • A @ @ @ @ @ blame as liberals respond to Trump infection

The Democratic House speaker said on MSNBC that Donald Trump’s announcement early on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for Covid-19 was 'very sad'. She added, however, that Trump’s actions during the pandemic were 'a brazen invitation for something like this to happen'


theguardian--2020-10-03--Trump films message before leaving for Covid treatment in hospital – video

Donald Trump has been flown to a military hospital after contracting Covid-19 .
Officials said the president would spend a @ @ @ @ @ Reed national military medical centre .
While he was in transit , a video was @ @ @ @ @ account in which the president addressed the camera directly , thanking people for their support @ @ @ @ @ by helicopter after Covid diagnosis

Donald Trump has been flown to a military hospital after contracting Covid-19. Officials said the president would spend a few days at the Walter Reed national military medical centre. While he was in transit, a video was posted to Trump's Twitter account in which the president addressed the camera directly, thanking people for their support


theguardian--2020-10-04--Coronavirus: Trump says 'I feel much better now', Victoria adds 12 cases – live

I want to begin by thanking all of the incredible medical professionals , the doctors , the nurses , everybody , at Walter Reed medical center – I think it ’ s the finest in the world – for the incredible job they ’ ve been doing .
I came here , wasn ’ t feeling so well , I feel much better now .
We ’ re working hard to get me all the way back .
I have to be back , because we still have to make America great again .
We ’ ve done an awfully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still have steps to go and we have to finish that job .
And I ’ ll be back , I think I ’ ll be back soon , and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we ’ ve been doing and the kind of numbers that we ’ ve been doing .
We ’ ve been so proud of it .
But this was something that happened , and it ’ s happened to millions of people all over the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Not just in the US , I ’ m fighting for them all over the world .
We ’ re going to beat this coronavirus , or whatever you want to call it , and we ’ re going to beat it soundly .
So many things have happened .
If you look at the therapeutics , which I ’ m taking right now , some of them , and others are coming out soon that are looking like – frankly , they ’ re miracles if you want to know the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People criticize me when I say that , but we have things happening that look like they ’ re miracles coming down from God .
So I just want to tell you that I ’ m starting to feel good .
You don ’ t know over the next period of a few days , I guess that ’ s the real test , so we ’ ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days .
I just want to be so thankful for all of the support I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on television or reading about it .
I most of all appreciate what ’ s been said by the American people , by almost a bipartisan consensus of the American people .
It ’ s a beautiful thing to see and I very much appreciate it and I won ’ t forget it .
I promise you that .
I also want to thank the leaders of the world for their condolences and their – they know what we ’ re going through .
They know what , as your leader , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had no choice because I just didn ’ t want to stay in the White House .
I was given that alternative .
Stay in the White House , lock yourself in , don ’ t ever leave , don ’ t even go to the Oval Office , just stay upstairs and enjoy it , don ’ t see people , don ’ t talk to people and just be done with it and I can ’ t do that .
I had to be out front and – this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this is the greatest country in the world , this is the most powerful country in the world .
I can ’ t be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say : ‘ Hey , whatever happens happens.
’ I can ’ t do that .
We have to confront problems .
As a leader you have to confront problems .
There ’ s never been a great leader that would have done that .
So that ’ s where it is .
I ’ m doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Our first lady is doing very well .
And Melania asked me to say something as to the respect that she has for our country , the love that she has for our country .
And we ’ re both doing well .
Melania is really handling it very nicely .
As you ’ ve probably read , she ’ s slightly younger than me – just a little tiny bit – and therefore , just , we know the disease , we know the situation with age versus younger people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s supposed to be handled .
And that makes me very happy , and it makes the country very happy .
But I ’ m also doing well and I think we ’ re going to have a very good result .
Again , over the next few days we ’ re going to probably know for sure .
So I just want to thank everybody out there , everybody , all over the world , specifically the United States .
The outpouring of love has been incredible .
I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Bryan Armen Graham (now) and Tom Lutz (earlier) in New York

4 Oct 2020 07.45 BST Hong Kong health authorities are reportedly about to announce five new recorded cases - making it two weeks since the city reported figures above 20. The South China Morning Post also reported one of the five cases is a 22-year-old student at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education Lee Wai Lee campus in Tseung Kwan O, where more than 2,000 other students and staff were being now tested. On Saturday the overall number of local cases stood at 5,108, with 105 related deaths.
4 Oct 2020 07.36 BST AAP: West Australian authorities have confirmed a crew member from a cargo ship docked at Fremantle Port has been tested for Covid-19.
The crew member aboard the Kota Legit vessel was tested after it emerged they had been unwell while the ship was at sea, WA Health said in a statement on Sunday.
The result of the test is not yet known.
“The crew member is currently well but as a precautionary measure that crew member was tested for Covid-19 yesterday,” WA Health said.
“The result of that of test will be available soon.
“The rest of the crew remain well. Any necessary changes to the further management of the ship will be made once that test result is known. In the meantime, the ship will remain at Fremantle Port with all crew remaining onboard.”
The ship arrived in Fremantle after a seven-day voyage from Port Klang in Malaysia. It’s believed to have been in China and Singapore prior to that.
It comes as authorities continue to deal with an outbreak of 17 cases on the Patricia Oldendorff bulk carrier off Port Hedland.
The vessel, carrying 20 Filipino nationals and the captain, arrived from Manila on September 16 and is anchored eight nautical miles off WA’s northwest coast.
Nine people remain on the ship as essential crew, seven of whom have tested positive.
There are also a dozen crew members in quarantine at the fenced-off Hedland Hotel and 10 of them have tested positive.
None are seriously unwell.
Authorities are confident the ship will set sail in the next week. WA recorded no new cases on Sunday and has 17 active cases.
4 Oct 2020 06.57 BST Jillian Ambrose In the UK, millions of employees preparing to work from home this winter will face a collective hike of almost £2bn on their energy bills, and tougher working conditions, with only a “pittance” in compensation from their employers. Half the UK’s workforce is likely to work primarily from home over the coming months as they help to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and may see their winter energy bills rise by a fifth as radiators and boilers are kept running through the day. The average household energy bill could climb by £107 this winter for those working from home five days a week, according to a study by Energy Helpline, which would mean a £1.9bn hike for the energy bills of working households between October and March. Read more: Working from home in UK over winter ‘will add £100 to fuel bills’ Read more
4 Oct 2020 06.38 BST Reuters: So far, markets have been comparatively sanguine in response to Trump’s diagnosis: hopes of a breakthrough in talks among US lawmakers on another stimulus package took the edge off a stock market selloff on Friday, with the S&P 500 losing less than 1% and so-called safe-haven assets seeing limited demand. News of Trump’s hospitalisation at a military medical center outside Washington, where he remained on Saturday, came after trading ended on Friday. Many investors are concerned, however, that a serious decline in Trump’s health less than a month before Americans go to the polls could roil a US stock market that recently notched its worst monthly performance since its selloff in March while causing turbulence in other assets. If the president’s health is in jeopardy, there’s “too much uncertainty in the situation for the markets just to shrug it off,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. If the president’s health is in jeopardy, there’s “too much uncertainty in the situation for the markets just to shrug it off,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images The various outcomes investors currently envision run the gamut from a quick recovery that bolsters Trump’s image as a fighter to a drawn-out illness or death stoking uncertainty and drying up risk appetite across markets. Should uncertainty persist, technology and momentum stocks that have led this year’s rally may be particularly vulnerable to a selloff, some investors said. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 2% on Friday, double the S&P 500’s decline. “If people ... get nervous right now, probably it manifests itself in crowded trades like tech and mega-cap being unwound a bit,” Delwiche said. A record 80% of fund managers surveyed last month by BofA Global Research said that buying technology stocks was the market’s “most crowded” trade. The concentration of investors in big tech stocks has also raised concerns over their outsized sway on moves in the broader market. The largest five U.S. companies - Google parent Alphabet , Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft - now account for almost 25% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, according to research firm Oxford Economics.
4 Oct 2020 06.23 BST Bloomberg News is reporting - and the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman says she has separately confirmed - that top Trump aide Nick Luna has tested positive for Covid-19. Luna serves as Trump’s “body man”, a personal attendant to the president, and was diagnosed a little over 24 hours after Trump’s admission to Walter Reed hospital, the report says. Haberman reports Luna is married to Cassidy Dumbauld, a senior advisor of Jared Kushner, husband of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
4 Oct 2020 06.09 BST Katharine Murphy With news that the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is scaling back a planned visit to Asia this week given the drama associated with Donald Trump’s Covid diagnosis, I’ve made a couple of quick calls to work out if Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne is still bound for Tokyo for the “quad” discussion. As far as Australia is concerned the Toyko conversation is all on track. Pompeo will be there, and so will Payne. The “quad” is a gathering between Australia, the US, Japan and India. The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is the coronavirus, the impact of the pandemic on supply chains, and how to counter state sponsored disinformation. Trump Covid diagnosis shortens Mike Pompeo's Asia trip Read more
4 Oct 2020 05.57 BST A reminder for Australian readers who want to stay up-to-date with US election news: sign-up to our daily email briefing.
The US election briefing for Australia is an Australian take on the news, delivered every weekday at 5pm to keep you up to date with the extraordinary electoral contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The email gives you the top US election headlines and most important developments, as well as links to our full range of election coverage, all explained and presented from an Australian viewpoint.
It’s written by my Guardian colleague, columnist and former US reporter Josephine Tovey, who spent three years reporting in New York and covered the 2016 presidential election for Fairfax Media.
You can sign up here: US election briefing for Australia: sign up for our daily email newsletter Read more
4 Oct 2020 05.12 BST Singapore is expected to move into “phase three” of its reopening plan, but recent rule changes have people wondering if they haven’t unofficially done it already. “Instead, we are calling the big overall phases as one, two and three, like signposts that we have reached major staging points in our journey,” says Associate Prof Alex Cook, vice dean of research at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock school of public health in the Straits Times. “Careful relaxation is necessary as countries that have rushed into reopening are entering second waves, and either starting localised lockdowns, in the case of Spain and Britain, or full national lockdowns, like Israel,” he said. A man stands in the al fresco dining area of his restaurant situated in the Kampong Glam cultural district of Singapore. Photograph: Wallace Woon/EPA Restrictions have been eased over recent weeks, including doubling the number of people allowed at weddings, and allowing tourists from more countries including Australia (but not the state of Victoria), and Vietnam, and resuming live music at worship services. Here, the Straits Times charts the plethora of changes to restrictions since the pandemic began.
Updated at 05.16 BST
4 Oct 2020 04.50 BST Australia is heading into summer, and for much of the country’s coastal population this usually means long days at the beach. While the country has relatively very few cases of Covid, there are still social distancing measures in place – the only big waves we want to see are in the ocean, thanks very much. So what does this mean for beachgoers and for the lifesavers who occasionally have to rescue them? Well, to start, there will be more crowd control, no mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and swimmers should watch out for others coughing up mucus in the water (ew). Elias Visontay takes a look: Sun, sand and coronavirus: Australia aims to enforce a Covid-safe summer Read more The coronavirus will mean some big changes at the beach during Australia’s approaching summer. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPA
Updated at 05.07 BST


theguardian--2020-10-04--'I feel much better': Trump releases first video message from hospital room

Donald Trump released a new video message on Saturday evening saying that he is “ doing well ” , his wife Melania is “ doing very well ” and the next few days will be the “ real test ” after he was taken to hospital with Covid-19 .
“ I came here , wasn ’ t feeling so well , I feel much better now .
We ’ re working hard to get me all the way back , ” Trump said from behind a desk in his suite at the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda , Maryland .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said : “ I ’ ll be back , I think I ’ ll be back soon , and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we ’ ve been doing and the kind of numbers that we ’ ve been doing.
” The video countered some reports that Trump ’ s prognosis had worsened since he was admitted to the military hospital on Friday evening , several hours after he announced on Twitter that he and the first lady , Melania Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video was released , White House doctor Sean P Conley said Trump was free of fever and making substantial progress , but was “ not yet out of the woods ” .
“ He spent much of the afternoon conducting business , and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty , ” Conley said in a statement .
Earlier on Saturday , the White House had sent contradictory messages about the president ’ s health , with a senior official saying his vital signs were “ very concerning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovering well from Covid-19 .
While one doctor said Trump had told them “ I feel like I could walk out of here today ” , the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less rosy assessment , saying : “ The president ’ s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care .
“ We ’ re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.
” In his message , Trump did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I just want to tell you that I ’ m starting to feel good .
You don ’ t know over the next period of a few days , I guess that ’ s the real test , so we ’ ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.
” Trump said his wife was “ doing very well ” and joked about their age gap .
“ Melania is really handling it very nicely .
As you ’ ve probably read , she ’ s slightly younger than me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and therefore , just , we know the disease , we know the situation with age versus younger people , and Melania is handling it statistically like it ’ s supposed to be handled .
And that makes me very happy , and it makes the country very happy.
” The president thanked his medical team – “ the incredible medical professionals , the doctors , the nurses , everybody , at Walter Reed Medical Center – I think it ’ s the finest in the world – for the incredible job they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referred to the coronavirus epidemic , which has taken the lives of around 200,000 Americans , derailed the US economy and in recent days threatened Trump ’ s re-election campaign as White House staff and Republican senators have become infected .
“ This was something that happened , and it ’ s happened to millions of people all over the world , and I ’ m fighting for them .
Not just in the US , I ’ m fighting for them all over the world .
We ’ re going to beat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to call it , and we ’ re going to beat it soundly , ” Trump said .
The decision to put Trump in hospital came after he had experienced difficulty breathing and his oxygen level dropped , according to a source familiar with the situation .
In his message , Trump said he had “ no choice because I just didn ’ t want to stay in the White House ” .
“ I was given that alternative .
Stay in the White House , lock yourself in , don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the Oval Office , just stay upstairs and enjoy it , don ’ t see people , don ’ t talk to people and just be done with it and I can ’ t do that , ” he said .
“ I can ’ t be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say : ‘ Hey , whatever happens happens.
’ I can ’ t do that.
” After being admitted to Walter Reed , Trump was placed on a cocktail of drugs including a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antiviral drug sold by Gilead Sciences that has been shown to shorten hospital stays .
He is also taking an experimental treatment , Regeneron ’ s REGN-COV2 , one of several experimental Covid-19 treatments known as monoclonal antibodies , as well as zinc , vitamin D , famotidine , melatonin and aspirin , according to Conley .
During his message Trump made no mention of being placed on supplemental oxygen before he was admitted .
“ If you look at the therapeutics , which I ’ m taking right now , some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon that are looking like – frankly , they ’ re miracles if you want to know the truth .
They ’ re miracles , ” he said .
Trump is considered vulnerable because of his age and weight .
He has remained in apparent good health during his time in office but is not known to exercise regularly or to follow a healthy diet .
Trump also thanked Americans for their “ almost bipartisan ” well wishes and concluded his message by saying : “ I think we ’ re going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Donald Trump released a new video message on Saturday evening saying that he is “doing well”, his wife Melania is “doing very well” and the next few days will be the “real test” after he was taken to hospital with Covid-19.
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well, I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back,” Trump said from behind a desk in his suite at the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
The US president, looking pale, said: “I’ll be back, I think I’ll be back soon, and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we’ve been doing and the kind of numbers that we’ve been doing.”
The video countered some reports that Trump’s prognosis had worsened since he was admitted to the military hospital on Friday evening, several hours after he announced on Twitter that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had contracted the virus.
Shortly after the video was released, White House doctor Sean P Conley said Trump was free of fever and making substantial progress, but was “not yet out of the woods”.
“He spent much of the afternoon conducting business, and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty,” Conley said in a statement.
Earlier on Saturday, the White House had sent contradictory messages about the president’s health, with a senior official saying his vital signs were “very concerning” even as doctors portrayed a patient recovering well from Covid-19.
While one doctor said Trump had told them “I feel like I could walk out of here today”, the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less rosy assessment, saying: “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care.
“We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
In his message, Trump did not directly contradict Meadows, saying: “I just want to tell you that I’m starting to feel good. You don’t know over the next period of a few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.”
Trump said his wife was “doing very well” and joked about their age gap.
“Melania is really handling it very nicely. As you’ve probably read, she’s slightly younger than me – just a little tiny bit – and therefore, just, we know the disease, we know the situation with age versus younger people, and Melania is handling it statistically like it’s supposed to be handled. And that makes me very happy, and it makes the country very happy.”
The president thanked his medical team – “the incredible medical professionals, the doctors, the nurses, everybody, at Walter Reed Medical Center – I think it’s the finest in the world – for the incredible job they’ve been doing.”
And he referred to the coronavirus epidemic, which has taken the lives of around 200,000 Americans, derailed the US economy and in recent days threatened Trump’s re-election campaign as White House staff and Republican senators have become infected.
“This was something that happened, and it’s happened to millions of people all over the world, and I’m fighting for them. Not just in the US, I’m fighting for them all over the world. We’re going to beat this coronavirus, or whatever you want to call it, and we’re going to beat it soundly,” Trump said.
The decision to put Trump in hospital came after he had experienced difficulty breathing and his oxygen level dropped, according to a source familiar with the situation.
In his message, Trump said he had “no choice because I just didn’t want to stay in the White House”.
“I was given that alternative. Stay in the White House, lock yourself in, don’t ever leave, don’t even go to the Oval Office, just stay upstairs and enjoy it, don’t see people, don’t talk to people and just be done with it and I can’t do that,” he said.
“I can’t be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say: ‘Hey, whatever happens happens.’ I can’t do that.”
After being admitted to Walter Reed, Trump was placed on a cocktail of drugs including a five-day course of Remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug sold by Gilead Sciences that has been shown to shorten hospital stays.
He is also taking an experimental treatment, Regeneron’s REGN-COV2, one of several experimental Covid-19 treatments known as monoclonal antibodies, as well as zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, according to Conley.
During his message Trump made no mention of being placed on supplemental oxygen before he was admitted. “If you look at the therapeutics, which I’m taking right now, some of them, and others are coming out soon that are looking like – frankly, they’re miracles if you want to know the truth. They’re miracles,” he said.
Trump is considered vulnerable because of his age and weight. He has remained in apparent good health during his time in office but is not known to exercise regularly or to follow a healthy diet.
Trump also thanked Americans for their “almost bipartisan” well wishes and concluded his message by saying: “I think we’re going to have a very good result.”


theguardian--2020-10-03--Amy Coney Barrett: quick confirmation under threat as three senators infected

Senate Republicans are facing a shrinking window of time before the November 3 election to confirm Donald Trump ’ s supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett , following the news that at least three Republican senators have tested positive for the coronavirus and more are quarantining after likely exposure .
Mitch McConnell , the Senate majority leader and Republican from Kentucky , on Saturday morning said he would seek consent from Democrats to cancel any action on the main floor of the Senate for the next two weeks , until 19 October .
But the Senate judiciary committee , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will still convene as planned on 12 October to begin the confirmation hearing process for Barrett , he said .
While senators have attended recent hearings remotely , Democrats have said there is bipartisan opposition for allowing them to do so for something as high profile as a supreme court nomination that could determine the ideological tilt of the court .
In a letter on Saturday , top Democrats on the committee said that to “ proceed at this juncture with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett ’ s nomination to the supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all those who are called upon to do the work of this body ” .
Many of the senators on the committee are older and have other risk factors for Covid-19 .
Republicans are trying to advance Barrett ’ s nomination as quickly as possible to replace the court ’ s progressive champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg , who died last month .
This despite refusing to consider Barack Obama ’ s pick for a supreme court justice in an election year in 2016 .
Republican leaders are concerned that if they lose their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , and if Trump loses the White House , it will be harder to confirm a conservative nominee during the lame-duck session before former vice president Joe Biden could enter office in January 2021 .
Utah senator Mike Lee and North Carolina senator Thom Tillis , both of whom sit on the judiciary panel , tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and will quarantine for 10 days , until the committee meeting .
Both had attended an event at the White House announcing Barrett ’ s nomination last Saturday .
Multiple attendees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wife Melania , former White House counsel Kellyanne Conway and Chris Christie , the former New Jersey governor and a Trump adviser , have now tested positive .
Without Lee and Tillis ’ s votes , Barrett ’ s committee approval could be in jeopardy .
Democrats could refuse to attend the meeting , denying Republicans the total number of lawmakers required to send the nomination to the full floor .
A third Republican senator on the committee , Iowa ’ s Chuck Grassley , who is 87 , was also at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Grassley ’ s office argues his doctors have not recommended he be tested and don ’ t believe he has been in close contact with anyone suspected of having or confirmed to have the coronavirus .
At the hearings , senators sit far apart , although neither Grassley nor Lee wore a mask when speaking .
McConnell said the judiciary committee has been meeting since May with some senators present and some participating virtually .
“ Certainly all Republican members of the committee will participate in these important hearings , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process , which , if completed , would tilt the court dramatically to the right .
Wisconsin Republican senator Ron Johnson , who is not on the committee , has also contracted the coronavirus .
He did not attend the White House event last Saturday because he was already isolating following a different potential exposure .
Senate Republicans meet several times a week for a caucus lunch , where they sit in a large room and remove their masks .
All three of the senators who have tested positive were at those lunches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If at least three Republican senators are too ill to appear in person to confirm Barrett , the party leadership may not have enough votes .
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate , and Mike Pence , the vice-president , could break a tie .
Two Republicans , Maine ’ s Susan Collins and Alaska ’ s Lisa Murkowski , have said they will not confirm a nominee before the election .

Senate Republicans are facing a shrinking window of time before the November 3 election to confirm Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, following the news that at least three Republican senators have tested positive for the coronavirus and more are quarantining after likely exposure.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader and Republican from Kentucky, on Saturday morning said he would seek consent from Democrats to cancel any action on the main floor of the Senate for the next two weeks, until 19 October.
But the Senate judiciary committee, which must vote on the nomination first, will still convene as planned on 12 October to begin the confirmation hearing process for Barrett, he said. While senators have attended recent hearings remotely, Democrats have said there is bipartisan opposition for allowing them to do so for something as high profile as a supreme court nomination that could determine the ideological tilt of the court.
In a letter on Saturday, top Democrats on the committee said that to “proceed at this juncture with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett’s nomination to the supreme court threatens the health and safety of all those who are called upon to do the work of this body”. Many of the senators on the committee are older and have other risk factors for Covid-19.
Republicans are trying to advance Barrett’s nomination as quickly as possible to replace the court’s progressive champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month.
This despite refusing to consider Barack Obama’s pick for a supreme court justice in an election year in 2016.
Republican leaders are concerned that if they lose their majority in the Senate in the November election, and if Trump loses the White House, it will be harder to confirm a conservative nominee during the lame-duck session before former vice president Joe Biden could enter office in January 2021.
Utah senator Mike Lee and North Carolina senator Thom Tillis, both of whom sit on the judiciary panel, tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and will quarantine for 10 days, until the committee meeting.
Both had attended an event at the White House announcing Barrett’s nomination last Saturday. Multiple attendees of the event, including Trump, his wife Melania, former White House counsel Kellyanne Conway and Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and a Trump adviser, have now tested positive.
Without Lee and Tillis’s votes, Barrett’s committee approval could be in jeopardy. Democrats could refuse to attend the meeting, denying Republicans the total number of lawmakers required to send the nomination to the full floor.
A third Republican senator on the committee, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, who is 87, was also at a hearing last week with Lee. But Grassley’s office argues his doctors have not recommended he be tested and don’t believe he has been in close contact with anyone suspected of having or confirmed to have the coronavirus. At the hearings, senators sit far apart, although neither Grassley nor Lee wore a mask when speaking.
McConnell said the judiciary committee has been meeting since May with some senators present and some participating virtually.
“Certainly all Republican members of the committee will participate in these important hearings,” he said, of the supreme court confirmation process, which, if completed, would tilt the court dramatically to the right.
Wisconsin Republican senator Ron Johnson, who is not on the committee, has also contracted the coronavirus. He did not attend the White House event last Saturday because he was already isolating following a different potential exposure.
Senate Republicans meet several times a week for a caucus lunch, where they sit in a large room and remove their masks. All three of the senators who have tested positive were at those lunches last week, according to CNN.
If at least three Republican senators are too ill to appear in person to confirm Barrett, the party leadership may not have enough votes.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Mike Pence, the vice-president, could break a tie. Two Republicans, Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, have said they will not confirm a nominee before the election.


theguardian--2020-10-03--Scrutiny on Rose Garden event after Kellyanne Conway and other guests test positive for Covid

A crowded Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday at which Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his supreme court nominee has come under scrutiny after at least seven figures in attendance tested positive for coronavirus , including the president himself .
On Friday , the president ’ s former counsellor , Kellyanne Conway , announced she had tested positive and had “ mild ” symptoms .
Two Republican senators , Thom Tillis and Mike Lee , also announced they have tested positive .
Lee , who did not wear a mask at the White House event , said he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tillis , who did wear a mask , said he has no symptoms .
Both said they will quarantine for 10 days – ending just before Barrett ’ s confirmation hearings begin on 12 October .
Both senators serve on the Senate judiciary committee , raising questions about upcoming supreme court confirmation hearings and whether additional senators may have been exposed .
University of Notre Dame ’ s president , John Jenkins , was also later diagnosed with the disease .
And on Saturday it was revealed that Chris Christie , former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , has tested positive for the virus .
Attorney general Bill Barr , who was seen at the White House event hobnobbing with Conway , will not quarantine , according to the Department of Justice , after testing negative on Friday .
Trump was hospitalized on Friday , with the White House saying that he would spend “ a few days ” at the Walter Reed national military medical center following his diagnosis .
Speculation is growing that the event , which took place on 25 September , could have been the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibly a super-spreader event , as confirmed cases rise .
Barrett said Friday that she had not tested positive for the virus .
The event was Trump ’ s formal announcement that he was nominating Barrett to fill progressive champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s seat on the supreme court .
Ginsburg , who died on 18 September , had made clear that her dying wish was that her seat on the court would not be filled “ until a new president is installed ” , and Democrats have argued her replacement should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
A visual guide produced by Politico demonstrated the growing number of Trump officials and allies who have tested positive for coronavirus since attending the ceremony .
Many of those who have since announced they tested positive for the virus were seated close together .
As Huffington Post ’ s Igor Bobic noted , the chairs for the ceremony were not socially distanced .
And after the outdoor part of the event in the Rose Garden , guests progressed to indoor receptions inside the White House .
Conway tweeted Friday that she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fine .
“ I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians , ” she added .
The White House Correspondent ’ s Association said that an unnamed journalist who attended the event also tested positive , according to ABC News .

A crowded Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday at which Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his supreme court nominee has come under scrutiny after at least seven figures in attendance tested positive for coronavirus, including the president himself.
On Friday, the president’s former counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, announced she had tested positive and had “mild” symptoms.
Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, also announced they have tested positive.
Lee, who did not wear a mask at the White House event, said he had “symptoms consistent with longtime allergies”. Tillis, who did wear a mask, said he has no symptoms. Both said they will quarantine for 10 days – ending just before Barrett’s confirmation hearings begin on 12 October.
Both senators serve on the Senate judiciary committee, raising questions about upcoming supreme court confirmation hearings and whether additional senators may have been exposed.
University of Notre Dame’s president, John Jenkins, was also later diagnosed with the disease.
And on Saturday it was revealed that Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor and an adviser to Trump, has tested positive for the virus.
Attorney general Bill Barr, who was seen at the White House event hobnobbing with Conway, will not quarantine, according to the Department of Justice, after testing negative on Friday.
Trump was hospitalized on Friday, with the White House saying that he would spend “a few days” at the Walter Reed national military medical center following his diagnosis.
Speculation is growing that the event, which took place on 26 September, could have been the source of Trump’s infection and possibly a super-spreader event, as confirmed cases rise. Barrett said Friday that she had not tested positive for the virus.
The event was Trump’s formal announcement that he was nominating Barrett to fill progressive champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the supreme court. Ginsburg, who died on 18 September, had made clear that her dying wish was that her seat on the court would not be filled “until a new president is installed”, and Democrats have argued her replacement should not be confirmed until after the 2020 election.
A visual guide produced by Politico demonstrated the growing number of Trump officials and allies who have tested positive for coronavirus since attending the ceremony. Many of those who have since announced they tested positive for the virus were seated close together.
Melania, Sen. Mike Lee and the Rev. John Jenkins, all of who have tested positive for Covid-19, were in close proximity to senators and White House officials at last Saturday's ACB announcement. https://t.co/FuaOoez2e2 pic.twitter.com/IAoWDXNMtI — Taylor Spooky Thomas 👻 (@tmthomasdc) October 2, 2020
As Huffington Post’s Igor Bobic noted, the chairs for the ceremony were not socially distanced.
All they had to do is distance the chairs. They couldn’t even do the bare minimum. People should be fired over this. People would be fired over this in a normal admin. https://t.co/u73aoYQqa4 — Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 3, 2020
And after the outdoor part of the event in the Rose Garden, guests progressed to indoor receptions inside the White House.
Conway tweeted Friday that she has a light cough and is feeling fine. “I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians,” she added.
The White House Correspondent’s Association said that an unnamed journalist who attended the event also tested positive, according to ABC News.


theguardian--2020-10-03--Conflicting reports raise concerns about severity of Trump's Covid condition

Concerns mounted over the true state of Donald Trump ’ s health on Saturday as the US president ’ s coronavirus diagnosis raised doubts over transparency from the White House and engulfed the election in further chaos and controversy .
Briefings outside the hospital where Trump is a patient raised more questions than answers .
Doctors insisted that Trump , who was admitted to the Walter Reed national military medical center in Bethesda , Maryland , on Friday evening after being diagnosed with Covid-19 , was “ doing very well ” and “ there is no cause for concern ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reigned and fears for Trump grew as it emerged that a separate , unnamed briefing had been given to the pool reporters assigned to cover the president , and it was less upbeat .
“ The president ’ s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care .
We ’ re still not on a clear path to a full recovery , ” the source said , according to the White House press pool .
It raised concerns that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than first thought and that the public is being misled .
The source of the graver prognosis was subsequently identified as Mark Meadows , the White House chief of staff , who was observed talking to the reporters and was recorded on camera asking for his comments to be “ off the record ” , although he has not confirmed this .
In a Reuters report later on Saturday , Meadows offered a much more optimistic outlook .
“ The president is doing very well .
He is up and about and asking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are very pleased with his vital signs .
I have met with him on multiple occasions today on a variety of issues , ” he said .
Sean Conley , the president ’ s personal physician , who led the official medical briefing outside the hospital , was evasive under questioning as to whether Trump had ever received oxygen in the aftermath of his coronavirus diagnosis this week .
And Conley was reluctant to provide more details on the president ’ s symptoms and the timeline of his illness , including the extent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus on the 74-year-old ’ s body .
He said Trump had not been on oxygen while he was with his team , but would not answer direct questions about Friday .
Later , the Associated Press news agency reported via an unnamed source that the president was given supplemental oxygen while still at the White House , before being admitted to the hospital .
In contrast , when asked about reports that Trump had had difficulty breathing , Conley was unequivocal in saying that “ he has not and never did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s initial assertion that Trump was first diagnosed 72 hours prior , suggesting Trump tested positive on Wednesday , before he travelled to public campaign events in Minnesota and New Jersey .
But a little later , the White House sought to clarify by saying Conley meant that it was now day three since the diagnosis , and that Trump was diagnosed on Thursday night .
Meanwhile , with the clock ticking on the 3 November presidential election , Trump ’ s admission to the hospital threw an already tumultuous re-election campaign into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Republican figures , including campaign manager Bill Stepien , three US senators and former White House counsel Kellyanne Conway were also confirmed to have contracted Covid-19 .
Although the time , place and source of infections have not been confirmed , they attended an event increasingly regarded as a possible “ super-spreader ” – the announcement at the White House last Saturday evening of judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Trump ’ s latest nominee to the supreme court .
More than 100 Republican grandees gathered close together without masks both inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rose Garden during the event .
The sudden quarantining of the president and the diagnosis of his campaign manager immediately put his re-election campaign on the back foot while Democratic candidate Joe Biden forged ahead with a speech in Michigan – while wearing a mask – after testing negative for Covid on Friday .
Biden ’ s campaign said on Saturday that it would suspend “ negative ” campaign ads that criticize Trump .
Conley , the president ’ s physician , insisted on Saturday that Trump had made progress , was doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an experimental antibody drug and started a course of the antiviral drug remdesivir .
“ He is not on oxygen right now , ” Conley said .
“ All indicators are he will remain off the oxygen going forward .
At this time the team and I are extremely happy at the progress he has made .
We remain cautiously optimistic but he ’ s doing great.
” Conley admitted , however , that the treatment program was in its early stages , and that the worst effect of coronavirus in a patient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days .
Meanwhile first lady Melania Trump remains at the White House experiencing only minor symptoms after being diagnosed with coronavirus alongside the president , according to her own social media .
Ronna McDaniel , the chair of the Republican National Committee , and Chris Christie , the former New Jersey governor and a Trump adviser , have also contracted the disease .
Mike Pence , the vice-president , who will take over the levers of government if Trump dies or becomes incapacitated , announced on Saturday he had tested negative for coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not in quarantine , although he was in the front row at the Barrett event in the White House Rose Garden last weekend .
“ This is a code red moment for the US government ” political analyst Samantha Vinograd , an adviser at the University of Delaware ’ s Biden Institute , which is not affiliated with the Biden campaign , said in an analysis for CNN .
“ There is a global message that the White House would not or could not do what is necessary to protect its own staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] strong narrative that the White House will not or can not do what ’ s necessary to protect Americans .
”

Concerns mounted over the true state of Donald Trump’s health on Saturday as the US president’s coronavirus diagnosis raised doubts over transparency from the White House and engulfed the election in further chaos and controversy.
Briefings outside the hospital where Trump is a patient raised more questions than answers.
Doctors insisted that Trump, who was admitted to the Walter Reed national military medical center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday evening after being diagnosed with Covid-19, was “doing very well” and “there is no cause for concern”.
But just moments later, confusion reigned and fears for Trump grew as it emerged that a separate, unnamed briefing had been given to the pool reporters assigned to cover the president, and it was less upbeat.
“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,” said the source, who was subsequently identified as Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff.
It raised concerns that the president’s condition was worse than first thought and that the public is being misled.
In a Reuters report later on Saturday, Meadows offered a much more optimistic outlook. “The president is doing very well. He is up and about and asking for documents to review. The doctors are very pleased with his vital signs. I have met with him on multiple occasions today on a variety of issues,” he said.
Amid the contradictory reports, Trump shared a four-minute video message on Saturday night in which he appeared pale, but said he was feeling “much better now”.
“I’ll be back, I think I’ll be back soon, and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we’ve been doing and the kind of numbers that we’ve been doing,” Trump said from behind a desk in his hospital suite.
He acknowledged the “real test” would come in the next few days. “So we’ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.”
Dr Sean Conley, the president’s personal physician, who led the official medical briefing outside the hospital, was evasive under questioning as to whether Trump had ever received oxygen in the aftermath of his coronavirus diagnosis this week.
And Conley was reluctant to provide more details on the president’s symptoms and the timeline of his illness, including the extent of his fever and the effects of the virus on the 74-year-old’s body.
He said Trump had not been on oxygen while he was with his team, but would not answer direct questions about Friday. Later, the Associated Press reported via an unnamed source that the president was given supplemental oxygen while still at the White House, before being admitted to the hospital.
In contrast, when asked about reports that Trump had had difficulty breathing, Conley was unequivocal in saying that “he has not and never did”.
Equally confusing was Conley’s initial assertion that Trump was first diagnosed 72 hours prior, suggesting Trump tested positive on Wednesday, before he travelled to public campaign events in Minnesota and New Jersey. But a little later, the White House sought to clarify by saying Conley meant that it was now day three since the diagnosis, and that Trump was diagnosed on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, with the clock ticking on the 3 November presidential election, Trump’s admission to the hospital threw an already tumultuous re-election campaign into further disarray.
Several senior campaign officials and Republican figures, including campaign manager Bill Stepien, three US senators and former White House counsel Kellyanne Conway were also confirmed to have contracted Covid-19. Although the time, place and source of infections have not been confirmed, they attended an event increasingly regarded as a possible “super-spreader” – the announcement at the White House last Saturday evening of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Trump’s latest nominee to the supreme court.
More than 100 Republican grandees gathered close together without masks both inside the White House and outdoors in the Rose Garden during the event.
The sudden quarantining of the president and the diagnosis of his campaign manager immediately put his re-election campaign on the back foot while Democratic candidate Joe Biden forged ahead with a speech in Michigan – while wearing a mask – after testing negative for Covid on Friday.
Biden’s campaign said on Saturday that it would suspend “negative” campaign ads that criticize Trump.
Conley, the president’s physician, insisted on Saturday that Trump had made progress, was doing “very well” and had received an experimental antibody drug and started a course of the antiviral drug remdesivir.
“He is not on oxygen right now,” Conley said. “All indicators are he will remain off the oxygen going forward. At this time the team and I are extremely happy at the progress he has made. We remain cautiously optimistic but he’s doing great.”
Conley admitted, however, that the treatment program was in its early stages, and that the worst effect of coronavirus in a patient might not manifest for seven to 10 days.
Meanwhile Melania Trump remains at the White House experiencing only minor symptoms after being diagnosed with coronavirus alongside the president, according to her own social media.
Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, and Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and a Trump adviser, have also contracted the disease.
Mike Pence, the vice-president, who will take over the levers of government if Trump dies or becomes incapacitated, announced on Saturday he had tested negative for coronavirus for a second day. He is not in quarantine, although he was in the front row at the Barrett event in the White House Rose Garden last weekend.
“This is a code red moment for the US government” political analyst Samantha Vinograd, an adviser at the University of Delaware’s Biden Institute, which is not affiliated with the Biden campaign, said in an analysis for CNN.
“There is a global message that the White House would not or could not do what is necessary to protect its own staff, and the president … [and a] strong narrative that the White House will not or cannot do what’s necessary to protect Americans.”
Additional reporting by Tom Lutz and Emily Holden


theguardian--2020-10-03--Texas shutdown of mail-in ballot drop-off sites hits diverse cities hardest

Governor Greg Abbott ’ s announcement of the closure of several mail-in ballot drop-off sites across Texas on Thursday imposed a limit of one to each county .
The move came on the same day Travis county , which is largely composed of the state ’ s capital , Austin , had just opened four drop-off locations .
In July , Abbott had issued an executive order to ease voting restrictions due to the pandemic by extending the early voting period by six days .
But after facing pressure from his own Republican party , Abbott now seems to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Travis and Harris county will be disproportionately affected by this order .
These counties includes Texas ’ s most diverse cities : Austin and Houston , respectively .
Nine per cent of Travis county ’ s population are black and 33 % are Hispanic .
In Harris county , 20 % of the population are black and 43 % Hispanic .
Harris county is the third most populous county in the country with more than 4.7 million residents .
As of 2018 , it has nearly 2.4 million registered voters .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vast county has gone from having 12 ballot drop-off sites to just one , located at the NRG Stadium in central Houston .
Harris County spans 1,777 square miles and is larger than Rhode Island .
Residents in and around suburbs like Cypress , Tomball and Humble must now travel almost an hour one-way with moderate traffic to reach the single drop-off site .
Those living in rural areas like Waller or Hockley will have even farther to travel .
Civil rights organizations in the state have banded together to take legal action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ can cause ‘ confusion ’ and even undermine public confidence in the outcome of the election itself ” .
Ralph Edelbach , a resident of Cypress , is 82 and disabled .
He is a plaintiff in the lawsuit .
Edelbach originally planned on dropping off his ballot to a location 16 miles away from his home .
He must now travel 72 miles into the city and back .
“ When I saw there was an option to use mail outpost box options , I thought that was certainly something I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ Then I saw the governor ’ s proclamation .
His attempt to suppress the vote is clear.
” Edelbach said he should not have to mail in his ballot , citing his distrust of the US Postal Service after the discovery of major mail slowdowns after the Trump appointee Louis DeJoy was appointed postmaster general in June .
“ I ’ m 82 years old .
I do not have to vote in person , ” Edelbach said .
“ I do , in Texas , have the option of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that right .
There is no evidence that I ’ ve seen at all about any significant fraudulent voting going on anywhere.
” Ravi Doshi , senior voting rights counsel at the Campaign Legal Center ( CLC ) , is an attorney in the case .
“ We wouldn ’ t have filed this lawsuit if we didn ’ t think it had merit , ” he said .
“ The election in Texas is under way .
People are already voting .
They made plans on how they would vote based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the election started .
To change these rules midstream and get rid of drop-boxes is to make it more difficult for people to be able to exercise their right to vote .
That is plainly wrong and it should be stopped.
” The voter registration deadline in Texas is 5 October and early voting begins on 13 October .
The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is 23 October .
All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by 3 November and received by 5pm on 4 November .

Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement of the closure of several mail-in ballot drop-off sites across Texas on Thursday imposed a limit of one to each county. The move came on the same day Travis county, which is largely composed of the state’s capital, Austin, had just opened four drop-off locations.
In July, Abbott had issued an executive order to ease voting restrictions due to the pandemic by extending the early voting period by six days. But after facing pressure from his own Republican party, Abbott now seems to be backtracking.
Large, populous counties such as Travis and Harris county will be disproportionately affected by this order. These counties includes Texas’s most diverse cities: Austin and Houston, respectively. Nine per cent of Travis county’s population are black and 33% are Hispanic. In Harris county, 20% of the population are black and 43% Hispanic.
Harris county
Harris county is the third most populous county in the country with more than 4.7 million residents. As of 2018, it has nearly 2.4 million registered voters. After Abbott’s new order, the vast county has gone from having 12 ballot drop-off sites to just one, located at the NRG Stadium in central Houston.
Harris County spans 1,777 square miles and is larger than Rhode Island. Residents in and around suburbs like Cypress, Tomball and Humble must now travel almost an hour one-way with moderate traffic to reach the single drop-off site. Those living in rural areas like Waller or Hockley will have even farther to travel.
Civil rights organizations in the state have banded together to take legal action against the governor, claiming his order “can cause ‘confusion’ and even undermine public confidence in the outcome of the election itself”.
Ralph Edelbach, a resident of Cypress, is 82 and disabled. He is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Edelbach originally planned on dropping off his ballot to a location 16 miles away from his home. He must now travel 72 miles into the city and back.
“When I saw there was an option to use mail outpost box options, I thought that was certainly something I wanted to consider doing,” Edelbach said. “Then I saw the governor’s proclamation. His attempt to suppress the vote is clear.”
Edelbach said he should not have to mail in his ballot, citing his distrust of the US Postal Service after the discovery of major mail slowdowns after the Trump appointee Louis DeJoy was appointed postmaster general in June.
“I’m 82 years old. I do not have to vote in person,” Edelbach said. “I do, in Texas, have the option of voting absentee and I’m exercising that right. There is no evidence that I’ve seen at all about any significant fraudulent voting going on anywhere.”
Ravi Doshi, senior voting rights counsel at the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), is an attorney in the case.
“We wouldn’t have filed this lawsuit if we didn’t think it had merit,” he said. “The election in Texas is under way. People are already voting. They made plans on how they would vote based on the rules that were already set, before the election started. To change these rules midstream and get rid of drop-boxes is to make it more difficult for people to be able to exercise their right to vote. That is plainly wrong and it should be stopped.”
The voter registration deadline in Texas is 5 October and early voting begins on 13 October. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is 23 October. All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by 3 November and received by 5pm on 4 November.


theguardian--2020-10-03--The president’s personal agony is also a moment of deep national reckoning | Geoffrey Kabaservice

Impending death , as the saying goes , has a way of focusing the mind .
There ’ s no reason to believe President Trump faces imminent death as a result of his recently testing positive for the coronavirus .
But the brief video he released before he went into hospital showed a Trump we ’ ve rarely seen before : sombre , scared and , perhaps for the first time , truly shaken by the pandemic ’ s threat to both the nation and himself .
It ’ s conceivable that this momentous new development in the US presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day , could restore a seriousness to our politics that it has lacked for quite a while .
Exhibit A in the unseriousness of American political life has , of course , been our tragically inept response to the pandemic .
Not all of the blame can be pinned on the Trump administration .
The coronavirus has demonstrated a widespread breakdown in national competence that has become increasingly evident since the end of the cold war , which likely will receive further confirmation when we prove ourselves incapable of conducting a successful election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distinctive contribution to our cack-handed response to this pandemic has been to politicise the public health measures to combat it .
His irresponsible pursuit of partisan advantage over the national interest led him to downplay the threat of the virus , to demand a premature return to business as usual , to ignore social distancing at his public rallies and to mock wearing a mask as somehow weak and un-American .
Trump ’ s opponents have some justification for considering his contracting the coronavirus to be a kind of karmic retribution .
Bu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trumpers understand that the presidency as an institution , as opposed to any particular individual who occupies the White House , is too important to the nation ’ s security and wellbeing to be completely a matter of partisan politics .
Most have also refrained from publicly indulging in the kind of schadenfreude that will only deepen our tribal divisions .
Joe Biden hit exactly the right note with his message wishing the first couple a speedy recovery and his campaign ’ s suspension of negative advertising .
It ’ s distantly possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be his complete recovery , might return to campaigning with a new maturity brought on by being forced to confront his mortality .
He might issue a bipartisan call for mask-wearing and social distancing and for taking the pandemic out of politics .
No one seriously expects this of Trump , however , even though such a course would be the most likely to give him a rally-around-the flag bump in popularity .
As Biden observed in the last debate , Trump is who he is .
It ’ s far more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery is a tribute to his personal strength and shows that the coronavirus is , as he has said on many occasions , not much worse than the flu .
And , given that his admission to hospital will take him off the campaign trail at the very moment when he most needs to narrow his polling gap with Biden , the likelihood of his defeat will increase his desperation .
That in turn makes it likelier that he will try to sabotage the legitimacy of the election .
But if the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it can have a sobering effect on a critical mass of Americans who , for too long , have regarded politics merely as cheap entertainment and the venue for the expression of culture war grievances .
Just as Trump has not been a saviour for his supporters , removing him from office will do little in itself to arrest the reality of American decline .
Vladimir Putin has claimed that the breakup of the Soviet Union was the “ greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century , ” but hindsight may show America ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prelude to a greater tragedy .
The end of the cold war at least deprived the US of the desire to live up to its image as the leader of the free world and the national unity needed to pursue that end .
There was a time when it would have been a matter of deep and widely shared national embarrassment that the US , which makes up 4 % of the world ’ s population , should account for 20 % of all Covid-19 deaths .
There was a time when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beacon of global democracy would have undertaken the kind of reforms needed to conduct a national election during a pandemic .
The lukewarm enthusiasm of most of Biden ’ s supporters , in sharp contrast to their passionate determination to oust Trump , is an indication of political maturity .
The fact that few of them expect Biden to be a saviour indicates a wider understanding that the responsibility for reversing our national decline rests with the American people .
Some of this same understanding has glimmered , however faintly , with those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been forced by his illness to think about the possibility of his defeat or even his incapacitation or death .
Just as the pandemic has touched every part of the country , the problems driving our national decline extend to both red and blue America .
The solutions will have to come from the same kind of national mobilisation , skill at practical problem-solving and facility for governance and political compromise that allowed the country to win a world war , put a man on the moon and extend the benefits of peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Perhaps Trump ’ s illness will , in hindsight , be seen to have provided a much-needed national wake-up call .
• Geoffrey Kabaservice is the author of Rule and Ruin : The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party and director of political studies at the Niskanen Centre , Washington

Impending death, as the saying goes, has a way of focusing the mind. There’s no reason to believe President Trump faces imminent death as a result of his recently testing positive for the coronavirus.
But the brief video he released before he went into hospital showed a Trump we’ve rarely seen before: sombre, scared and, perhaps for the first time, truly shaken by the pandemic’s threat to both the nation and himself. It’s conceivable that this momentous new development in the US presidential race, just a month from election day, could restore a seriousness to our politics that it has lacked for quite a while.
Exhibit A in the unseriousness of American political life has, of course, been our tragically inept response to the pandemic. Not all of the blame can be pinned on the Trump administration. The coronavirus has demonstrated a widespread breakdown in national competence that has become increasingly evident since the end of the cold war, which likely will receive further confirmation when we prove ourselves incapable of conducting a successful election next month.
Trump’s opponents have some justification for considering his contracting the coronavirus to be karmic retribution
But Trump’s distinctive contribution to our cack-handed response to this pandemic has been to politicise the public health measures to combat it. His irresponsible pursuit of partisan advantage over the national interest led him to downplay the threat of the virus, to demand a premature return to business as usual, to ignore social distancing at his public rallies and to mock wearing a mask as somehow weak and un-American.
Trump’s opponents have some justification for considering his contracting the coronavirus to be a kind of karmic retribution. But fortunately, most prominent Democrats and Never Trumpers understand that the presidency as an institution, as opposed to any particular individual who occupies the White House, is too important to the nation’s security and wellbeing to be completely a matter of partisan politics.
Most have also refrained from publicly indulging in the kind of schadenfreude that will only deepen our tribal divisions. Joe Biden hit exactly the right note with his message wishing the first couple a speedy recovery and his campaign’s suspension of negative advertising.
It’s distantly possible that Trump, after what I pray will be his complete recovery, might return to campaigning with a new maturity brought on by being forced to confront his mortality. He might issue a bipartisan call for mask-wearing and social distancing and for taking the pandemic out of politics.
No one seriously expects this of Trump, however, even though such a course would be the most likely to give him a rally-around-the flag bump in popularity. As Biden observed in the last debate, Trump is who he is.
It’s far more likely that Trump will boast that his recovery is a tribute to his personal strength and shows that the coronavirus is, as he has said on many occasions, not much worse than the flu. And, given that his admission to hospital will take him off the campaign trail at the very moment when he most needs to narrow his polling gap with Biden, the likelihood of his defeat will increase his desperation. That in turn makes it likelier that he will try to sabotage the legitimacy of the election.
But if the virus can’t change Trump, perhaps it can have a sobering effect on a critical mass of Americans who, for too long, have regarded politics merely as cheap entertainment and the venue for the expression of culture war grievances. Just as Trump has not been a saviour for his supporters, removing him from office will do little in itself to arrest the reality of American decline.
Vladimir Putin has claimed that the breakup of the Soviet Union was the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” but hindsight may show America’s victory in the cold war as the prelude to a greater tragedy. The end of the cold war at least deprived the US of the desire to live up to its image as the leader of the free world and the national unity needed to pursue that end.
Perhaps it will have a sobering effect on a critical mass of Americans who have regarded politics as cheap entertainment
There was a time when it would have been a matter of deep and widely shared national embarrassment that the US, which makes up 4% of the world’s population, should account for 20% of all Covid-19 deaths. There was a time when the country that saw itself as the beacon of global democracy would have undertaken the kind of reforms needed to conduct a national election during a pandemic.
The lukewarm enthusiasm of most of Biden’s supporters, in sharp contrast to their passionate determination to oust Trump, is an indication of political maturity. The fact that few of them expect Biden to be a saviour indicates a wider understanding that the responsibility for reversing our national decline rests with the American people. Some of this same understanding has glimmered, however faintly, with those of Trump’s supporters who have been forced by his illness to think about the possibility of his defeat or even his incapacitation or death.
Just as the pandemic has touched every part of the country, the problems driving our national decline extend to both red and blue America. The solutions will have to come from the same kind of national mobilisation, skill at practical problem-solving and facility for governance and political compromise that allowed the country to win a world war, put a man on the moon and extend the benefits of peace and prosperity to much of the globe.
Perhaps Trump’s illness will, in hindsight, be seen to have provided a much-needed national wake-up call.