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, 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.

Oct 05, 2020, 4:57 PM EDT

White House making workspace changes for Trump's return

The White House is preparing the Map Room and Diplomatic Reception Room as a remote working space for the president, a senior administration official told ABC News. These rooms are in the residence.

The news was first reported by Politico.

-ABC News' John Santucci

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