President arrives at White House, removes mask and salutes

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

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, 2:42 PM EDT

Trump says he will leave hospital Monday evening.

President Trump tweeted that he will leave Walter Reed Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

"Don't be afraid of Covid," the president said. "Don't let it dominate your life."

Oct 05, 2020, 2:09 PM EDT

Trump medical team to give update on president

The medical team treating President Trump will hold a press briefing during the 3 p.m. hour at Walter Reed Medical Center, according to White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere.

Oct 05, 2020, 1:11 PM EDT

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Mark Meadows test negative for coronavirus on Monday.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, along with Trump advisers Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, have all tested negative for the coronavirus on Monday.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters at the White House, Oct. 2, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP

Oct 05, 2020, 1:02 PM EDT

2 others in White House press office also test positive

In addition to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany testing positive for the coronavirus, two other staff members in the press office have also come back positive.

Chad Gilmartin and assistant press secretary Karoline Leavitt have both tested positive, sources told ABC News. Gilmartin's positive test came back over the weekend, sources said.

The White House is lit before dawn after President Donald Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2020.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Leavitt's desk is an an open, small central area in the "Lower Press" section of the White House press office, near the briefing room -- dozens of reporters, White House staffers and others typically pass through that area daily.

Gilmartin and McEnany sit in the "Upper Press" area -- a couple stairs and a ramp from where Leavitt sits.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson and John Santucci

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