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 5, 2020, 11:40 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, 11:40 AM EDT

White House press secretary says she's positive for COVID-19

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted on Monday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus.

McEnany said she had consistently tested negative every day since Thursday, but the positive result came back on Monday morning.

She said she is not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms and will begin the quarantine process.

Oct 05, 2020, 11:00 AM EDT

First lady says she is 'feeling good'

First lady Melania Trump said she is "feeling good & will continue to rest at home" in a tweet she posted Monday morning.

President Trump announced early Friday morning that he and Melania Trump had both tested positive for the coronavirus.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Sept. 29, 2020, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Melania Trump has stayed at the White House since her positive test, while President Trump has been at Walter Reed Medical Center since Friday afternoon. Doctors are hopeful the president will be discharged later Monday.

Oct 05, 2020, 10:42 AM EDT

Vice President Pence, wife test negative Monday

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested negative for the coronavirus on Monday, according to an official in the vice president's office.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive in the Rose Garden to speak on Covid-19 testing at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2020.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

"Both the vice president and second lady are negative again today," the official said.

-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps

Oct 05, 2020, 9:56 AM EDT

White House urges staff to keep distance if sick days after positive cases

Staff at the White House were urged to stay home if they were sick days after President Trump and some of his advisers tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an email sent to the staff and obtained by ABC News.

One of Trump's closest advisers Hope Hicks was the first White House official to test positive on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. On Tuesday, she had traveled with the president on Air Force One to and from the debate and was seen in social media posts watching the debate in a "war room."

Hope Hicks, an advisor to President Donald Trump walks to Air Force One to depart Washington with the president and other staff on campaign travel to Minnesota from Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 30, 2020.
Leah Millis/Reuters

Trump and first lady Melania Trump announced they had tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday morning.

In addition to Hicks and the president, three other participants in debate preparations at the White House last Monday have tested positive: Campaign manager Bill Stepien, former adviser Kellyanne Conway and former New Jersey governor and ABC contributor Chris Christie.

The email to White House staff urges them to stay home if "you are experiencing symptoms such as sore throat, cough, fever, headache, new loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, chills, diarrhea, or difficulty breathing."

-ABC News' John Santucci

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