President didn't disclose 1st positive test, sources say

The president had already tested positive Thursday when he appeared on Fox News.

ByMatt Zarrell, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira, and Marc Nathanson
Last Updated: October 5, 2020, 7:58 AM EDT

President Donald Trump's condition is continuing to improve as he fights a coronavirus infection, doctors say, and he may be able to leave Walter Reed Medical Center as early as Monday -- even as details emerge that the president allegedly initially tested positive for COVID-19 earlier than he acknowledged.

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.

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.

Sunday's headlines:

Here is how the news developed on Sunday. All times Eastern.
Oct 04, 2020, 1:22 PM EDT

Trump on 5-day course of remdesivir

Doctors continue to plan to administer a five-day course of remdesivir to President Trump as part of his COVID-19 treatment.

The antiviral treatment has been shown to diminish recovery time in hospitalized coronavirus patients.

Due to two episodes of lower oxygen levels, the medical team treating the president is also now giving him the steroid dexamethasone, which he began to receive on Saturday.

President Trump's condition is said to be improving and doctors hope to discharge him back to the White House to continue treatment on Monday.

Oct 04, 2020, 1:13 PM EDT

Fauci not consulted on Trump's treatment, source says

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force has not been consulted on the treatment of President Trump, according to a source familiar with the president's treatment.

Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, and Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, Sept. 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Graeme Jennings/Getty Images, FILE

-ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl

Oct 04, 2020, 12:47 PM EDT

2 members of White House residence staff recently tested positive, sources say

ABC News has confirmed two White House residence staff members tested positive for the coronavirus a few weeks ago, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The sources told ABC News the employees did not come into direct contact with President Trump or first lady Melania Trump.

The White House in Washington, D.C. is pictured in this undated photo.
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images

White House spokesperson Judd Deere would not comment on the individuals but told ABC News the White House "does take any positive case seriously and has extensive plans and procedures in place to prevent further spread," he said. "A full and complete contact trace consistent with CDC guidelines is included in that and appropriate notifications and recommendations are made. "

The news was first reported by the New York Times.

-ABC News' John Santucci

Oct 04, 2020, 12:23 PM EDT

Trump was given supplemental oxygen, doctors confirmed

The medical team refused on Saturday to confirm that President Trump was given supplemental oxygen as part of his treatment for the coronavirus, but on Sunday Dr. Sean Conley said the president had been in fact given supplemental oxygen at least once.

Sources close to Trump told ABC News the president was having trouble breathing and received supplemental oxygen on Friday at the White House after his oxygen levels dropped. This in part prompted the president to be transferred to Walter Reed Hospital late Friday afternoon.

When asked why that information was not disclosed until Sunday, Conley said he was "trying to reflect the -- the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, that this course of illness has had."

"I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. And in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something which wasn't necessarily true."

Conley was asked if Trump had been given a second round of supplmental oxygen on Saturday and he said he'd "have to check with the nursing staff" but if additional oxygen was administered, it would have been "very, very limited."