President arrives at White House, removes mask and salutes

In a tweet announcing the move, Trump wrote, "Don't be afraid of Covid."

ByJon Haworth, Matt Zarrell, Lauren King, Libby Cathey, and Michelle Stoddart
Last Updated: October 6, 2020, 8:27 AM EDT

President Donald Trump's condition is continuing to improve as he fights a coronavirus infection, doctors said, and he left Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday evening, landing at the White House shortly before 7 p.m.

Doctors also reported that Trump, over the course of exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, had earlier experienced two episodes of "transient drops" in his oxygen saturation.

Yet the president was feeling well enough Sunday evening to briefly leave Walter Reed for a surprise drive-by, waving to supporters outside the hospital.

Administration member Judd Deere subsequently put out a statement saying that, "President Trump took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the Presidential Suite inside Walter Reed."

Meanwhile, numerous questions remain about how many people at the highest levels of government had been exposed to the virus after a week of events involving the president where social distancing and mask-wearing were lax in the White House and elsewhere.

Monday's headlines:

Here is how the news developed on Monday. All times Eastern.
Oct 05, 2020, 7:11 PM EDT

Trump departing Walter Reed for White House

After spending three nights in the hospital, Trump is departing Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, en route to the White House, despite not having completed his full COVID-19 treatment.

Trump -- in a mask -- surrounded by Secret Service -- walked out of the hospital at 6:38 p.m. ET and waved to reporters as he entered a vehicle to take him to Marine One.

He did not answer shouted questions from the press on the health of his staff.

The president tweeted shortly before his departure that he "Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!!"

Earlier in the day, the president’s physician said he supported Trump's move to the White House but also acknowledged the president is “not necessarily out of the woods yet” and that he is on “uncharted territory” in terms of his treatment.

Guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention say that transporting a patient “outside of their room should be limited to medically essential purposes.”

Trump arrived on Friday evening after announcing at 12:54 a.m. on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Oct 05, 2020, 6:27 PM EDT

VP debate will have plexiglass between candidates

After a request from Sen. Kamala Harris', D-Calif., team, there will be plexiglass between the candidates at Wednesday night's vice presidential debate, Frank Fahrenkopf, the chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates told ABC News.  

Fahrenkopf also told ABC News that any guests who are not wearing a mask will be escorted out of the debate.  

"They've got to wear a mask, and if they take their mask off they're gonna be escorted out, and I don't care who they are, they'll be escorted out," Fahrenkopf said.

Vice President Mike Pence's communications director, Katie Miller, responded to the move with a statement that said, "If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it." 

Miller tested positive for COVID-19 in May.  

-ABC News' Averi Harper and Justin Gomez

Oct 05, 2020, 5:41 PM EDT

Trump will fly from Walter Reed to White House

The White House issued an updated public schedule that said President Trump would depart the Walter Reed "emergency landing zone" at 6:30 p.m. and arrive on the White House South Lawn at 6:40 p.m.

PHOTO: Marine One lifts off from the White House to carry President Donald Trump to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Oct. 2, 2020.
Marine One lifts off from the White House to carry President Donald Trump to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Oct. 2, 2020. The White House says Trump will spend a "few days" at the military hospital after contracting COVID-19.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Oct 05, 2020, 5:04 PM EDT

Trump still plans to attend next week's presidential debate: Campaign

Following the announcement that Trump is planning to leave Walter Reed Medical Center and return to the White House Monday evening, the Trump campaign has confirmed that the president still plans to attend the next presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, despite his currently battling COVID-19.

"Yes. It is the president’s intention to debate," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told ABC News Monday afternoon.

MORE: Biden campaign open to moving forward with debates

The debate is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15 in Miami -- two weeks from when the president first reported testing positive for the coronavirus.

Earlier on Monday at a briefing outside Walter Reed, the president's physician Dr. Sean Conley was asked about Trump's potential return to the campaign trail.

He said, “As far as travel goes, we will see.”

ABC News' Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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