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White House physician says Trump has tested negative with COVID rapid test

Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

President Trump tested negative for COVID-19 with an Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test "on consecutive days," according to a memo from White House physician Sean Conley shared by press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Conley did not specify what days Trump tested negative.

The state of play: The memo comes days after Conley said Trump had met the "CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation" and "is no longer considered a transmission risk to others."

  • It also comes as the president has resumed holding public events, like a rally he held from the White House last Saturday and a campaign event he has planned in Florida on Monday.
  • Rapid tests like the one Conley said Trump has taken are less accurate in detecting the virus than the more sensitive PCR swab tests.

Worth noting: The White House has still not shared the timing of Trump's last negative test before his Oct. 2 announcement that he had contracted the virus, citing privacy reasons.

The bottom line: Conley wrote that the president's "repeatedly negative antigen tests," along with clinical and laboratory data, "have informed our medical team's assessment that the President is not infectious to others."

Go deeper: GOP social-distances Trump

Go deeper

Shawna Chen
Jan 20, 2021 - Health

California Rep. Raul Ruiz contracts COVID-19

Photo: Greg Nash-Pool via Getty

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) tweeted Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Why it matters: He is the latest member of Congress to contract the disease since pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, forcing lawmakers to lock down in close quarters. Some lawmakers have criticized colleagues for refusing to wear masks while in lockdown.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
Jan 19, 2021 - Health

U.S. surpasses 400,000 coronavirus deaths on Trump's final full day in office

Expand chart
Data: CSSE Johns Hopkins University; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Over 400,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S. as of Tuesday, per Johns Hopkins data.

Why it matters: It only took a little over a month for the U.S. to reach this mass casualty after 300,000 COVID deaths were reported last month. That's over 100,000 fatalities in 36 days.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Marisa Fernandez
Jan 19, 2021 - Health

Fauci: U.S. could achieve herd immunity by fall if vaccine rollout goes to plan

NIAID director Anthony Fauci. Photo: Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images

Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that if the coronavirus vaccine rollout by the incoming Biden administration goes as planned, the U.S. could start to see effects of herd immunity and normalcy by early-to-mid fall.

What he's saying: "If we [vaccinate] efficiently in April, May, June, July, August, we should have that degree of protection that could get us back to some form of normality. ... But we've also got to do it on a global scale," he said at a Harvard Business Review virtual event.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow