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, 3:22 PM 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, 3:22 PM EDT

Trump 'may not entirely be out of the woods yet,' doctor says

Dr. Sean Conley, the president's physician, told reporters on Monday that it's been more than 72 hours since Trump had a fever, his oxygen levels and breathing are all normal.

Conley noted that Trump "may not entirely be out of the woods yet" but the medical team agrees that their evaluations and Trump's clinical status support his return home where "he'll be surrounded by world class medical care 24/7."

Oct 05, 2020, 3:16 PM EDT

Trump has met or exceeded all discharge criteria

President Donald Trump will be discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday, the president's medical team announced.

Over the last 24 hours the president has "continued to improve" and has "met or exceeded all discharge criteria."

Trump will be given another dose of remdesivir at the hospital and then be discharged back to the White House.

Oct 05, 2020, 2:54 PM EDT

More White House staff working remotely Monday, official says

White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern told reporters on Monday that more White House staff are working remotely Monday after a number of staff members, including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and two other press officials, tested positive for the coronavirus.

"When a case is identified and people are -- think they may be potentially exposed, you step up the precautions. That's exactly what we've been advised to do by the health professionals, so that's what we're doing," he said.

Morgenstern would not directly say if the White House was having any second thoughts about how they've handled the COVID-19 precautions and claimed the administration has been following health professionals' recommendations.

"We've been in the pandemic now for many months. We know what to do when someone gets sick. It's we reassess, has anybody been in close contact, do they need to get another test, do they need to work remotely -- that's what we're seeing. Kayleigh's carrying it out, really being a perfect example of that right now," he said.

Asked why White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany hadn’t quarantined after having close contact with Hope Hicks, who tested positive last week, Morgenstern said the White House’s practice was only to quarantine if you were having “any symptoms or a positive test yourself.”

He denied the White House had been flouting COVID recommendations.

“We’ve been taking the precautions that we need to take,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing right now in response to changing circumstances,” he said.

Morgenstern declined to say how many people in the West Wing have tested positive for COVID-19.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

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."

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