Summary

  • US President Donald Trump is discharged from the Walter Reed medical centre following three days of Covid treatment

  • His doctors say he is safe to return to the White House but "may not be entirely out of the woods yet"

  • In a tweet, he said we was feeling "really good", and added: "Don't be afraid of Covid"

  • Questions remain about the seriousness of the president's illness after conflicting statements

  • In the UK, a technical glitch which meant nearly 16,000 cases went unreported has caused delays to its track and trace system

  • UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will "always balance the books" as coronavirus costs rise

  • All bars in the French capital Paris will shut from Tuesday as the city's coronavirus alert is raised to maximum

  • More than 35.1 million cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed globally, with over one million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University

  1. What is Regeneron’s antibody treatment?published at 07:46 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, has said the president has been given the experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron. But what is it?

    Prof Peter Horby, an Oxford University epidemiologist who chairs the UK's New and Emerging Respiratory Viral Threats Advisory Group, says it is a "cocktail of two antibodies".

    The artificially produced anitbodies, which mimic the body's natural defence against viruses, are designed to bind strongly to a protein on the surface of the virus, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

    "It helps prevent the virus attaching to the cells, entering the cells and replicating. And it also helps our own immune system to attack and kill the virus," he says.

    Horby says it's "one of the most promising" drugs to treat Covid-19, having a strong effect in laboratory cell cultures and in animal tests. It is, he adds, currently part of the UK's Recovery trial, which has previously shown the steroid dexamethasone is an effective treatment.

    Regeneron's treatment is already available to patients in three hospitals in the north of England as part of the trial and is being extended to 30 or 40 more hospitals, Horby says.

  2. What would happen if Trump became too ill to be president?published at 07:30 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Reality Check

    From left to right: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Grassley

    The 25th Amendment allows a president to hand over power to the vice-president, which means Mike Pence would become acting president. Once fit again, Trump could reclaim his position.

    If Pence became incapacitated as well, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives - a Democrat - would be next in line.

    If she were unwilling or unable to take on the role, it would be handed to a senior Republican Senator, currently the 87-year-old Charles E Grassley.

    Read our full piece here

  3. How the pandemic sparked a European cycling revolutionpublished at 07:07 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    From Bucharest to Brussels, and from Lisbon to Lyon, the coronavirus pandemic has triggered unprecedented investment in cycling around Europe.

    More than €1bn (£907bn; $1.1bn) has been spent on cycling-related infrastructure and 2,300km (1,400 miles) of new bike lanes have been rolled out since the pandemic began.

    Graphic showing addition cycling funding in selected countries

    "Cycling has come out a big winner," says Jill Warren of the Brussels-based European Cycling Federation. "This time has shown us the potential cycling that has to change our cities and our lives."

    Our colleague Kate Vandy looks at what four major cities across the continent have been doing to deal with the greater demand.

  4. The latest from the UKpublished at 06:55 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Still from James Bond movie No Time To DieImage source, Universal
    Image caption,

    The new Bond movie has been delayed once again due to the pandemic

    Here's a quick round-up of the headlines from around the UK:

  5. China wishes Trump wellpublished at 06:45 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai has wished the US president and his wife a quick recovery. "My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a speedy and full recovery," he tweeted.

    Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also expressed her sympathy: "Saddened to learn #President and the #FirstLady of the #US tested positive. Hope they both have a speedy recovery and will be fine."

  6. Thanks for joining us...published at 05:57 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Screenshot of Trump videoImage source, Reu
    Image caption,

    Trump thanked supporters in a video posted to Twitter

    Welcome to those of you waking up in the UK. Here's a round-up of the night's developments surrounding Donald Trump.

    • The president has been flown to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus
    • The White House said he was "fatigued but in good spirits" and was taken to hospital as a precaution
    • The presidential physician said Trump is not in need of supplemental oxygen and is being treated with remdesivir - an anti-viral medicine
    • Trump has tweeted twice since entering hospital
    • His first tweet was a video in which he thanked his supporters, while the second said he thought things were "going well"
    • There are growing numbers of officials close to the president who have tested positive
    • These include former presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway and two Republican senators - Mike Lee and Thom Tillis
  7. Trump campaign manager tests positivepublished at 05:21 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Trump and Bill StepienImage source, Getty Images

    Bill Stepien, Donald Trump's campaign manager, has become the latest official close to the president to test positive for Covid-19.

    Stepien received his results on Friday evening and is experiencing “mild flu-like symptoms", Politico reports.

    He will now reportedly work from home.

  8. Trump tweets again...published at 05:12 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Donald Trump has tweeted for the second time since entering hospital, saying he thinks things are "going well".

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  9. Trump being treated with remdesivir, physician sayspublished at 05:06 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    The presidential physician has said Donald Trump is not in need of supplemental oxygen and is being treated with remdesivir.

    Sean Conley said the president is doing "very well" in a memorandum.

    Remdesivir is an anti-viral medicine that has been used against Ebola.

    In May, it was made available in the UK on the NHS after it appeared to shorten recovery time for people with the virus.

    Trump doctor statementImage source, White House
  10. 'Dangerous' to move forward with judge confirmation hearingspublished at 04:57 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Peter Bowes
    North America correspondent

    Donald Trump holds an event to announce his nominee of Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney BarrettImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    There is growing criticism over the lack of social distancing at the event

    This is a crisis that’s escalating by the hour.

    With the news that another member of Trump’s inner circle, Kellyanne Conway, has tested positive, along with two Republican senators, there’s a growing realisation that a Covid cluster has penetrated the heart of US government.

    Like Conway, Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina attended the White House event where the president announced his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

    Four other attendees are also known to have tested positive.

    Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, has said it would be "irresponsible and dangerous” to move forward with the judge’s confirmation hearings.

    It would be another huge blow to the president if the proceedings were delayed, although the Senate leader Mitch McConnell has said they will continue with expanded use of remote hearings.

  11. Two out of seven Republican senators test positive for Covidpublished at 04:35 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Republican senators take up a row at the event to announce Amy Coney Barrett as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.Image source, Getty Images

    Seven Republican senators sat in a row at last Saturday's White House event to announce Amy Coney Barrett as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

    Two of them have so far tested positive for Covid-19.

    Senator Mike Lee of Utah (at the far end of the row, in the blue tie) was not wearing a mask. In a video shared on social media he can be seen hugging other guests after the ceremony.

    A few seats down, in the middle of the photo wearing the grey mask, is North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis. He also revealed on Friday that he had contracted the virus.

    It is unknown when they caught it. Both men said they were feeling well and showing no symptoms.

    Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Trump, has tested positive. She was sitting directly behind Melania Trump, who also tested positive.

    The only other senator to provide the results of a new test by Friday evening was Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, sitting second from the left.

    She did not wear a mask on this occasion - and she also travelled with Trump as one of his guests at this week's presidential debate. But she says her test came back negative.

    It takes five days on average from the moment a person is infected for symptoms to start showing, but it can be much longer.

  12. Did the US mess up its reopening?published at 04:23 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    The US has been one of the worst-hit countries on the planet and it has failed to get the virus under control.

    In July, we looked into why cases were still surging in the country.

    Media caption,

    Coronavirus: Did the US reopen faster than other countries?

  13. Trump's former adviser Conway tests positivepublished at 04:12 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Kellyanne ConwayImage source, EPA

    Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Trump, has tested positive for coronavirus.

    Conway said her symptoms were mild.

    She is latest person to have attended the announcement of the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett last Saturday to test positive.

    She resigned from her post as senior adviser to Trump in August, adding that she did so in order to focus on her children, giving them "less drama, more mama".

    The announcement came hours after one of Conway's daughters, Claudia, 15, tweeted that her mother's job had "ruined [her] life".

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  14. The lost six weeks when US failed to contain outbreakpublished at 03:55 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Having watched Asian and European countries struggle against Covid-19, the US was slow to ramp up testing and order its residents to stay at home.

    In May, we looked at this crucial time period and what exactly was done to prevent the outbreak.

    More than 200,000 Americans have now lost their lives to the virus and President Donald Trump is currently in hospital.

    Media caption,

    The lost six weeks when US failed to control the virus

  15. 'Hang on, Peter': how did US news react to Trump's diagnosis?published at 03:39 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Donald Trump tweeted he and Melania tested positive for Covid early on Friday morning. Here's how American news reacted.

    The president has since been hospitalised.

    Media caption,

    Trump Covid: How US news networks reacted to the president's positive test

  16. Who is Hope Hicks?published at 03:28 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Hope HicksImage source, Getty Images

    President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania contracted Covid-19 after his close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus.

    That's not an especially well-known name - the president's adviser is a 31-year-old former model who likes to keep under the radar.

    Hope Hicks replaced Anthony Scaramucci as the president's communications director when he was fired after 10 days in 2017.

    She didn't have a background in politics, but had been connected to the Trump family for the preceding five years.

    Her political career with Trump has been a bumpy one - she resigned from one role, only to return later in a different position on his team.

    So how did someone with such a low profile get one of the most important jobs in the US government?

  17. One man's Covid crusade in rural Americapublished at 03:17 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Jessica Lussenhop
    North America Reporter, BBC News

    Tony Vargas

    In Nebraska, which has some of the worst racial disparities in the country when it comes to Covid-19 cases, the state's sole Latino lawmaker tried to strengthen protections for meatpacking workers, all while confronting his own personal tragedy. It was a battle against time that revealed much about race, politics and workers' rights in the pandemic.

    On the afternoon of 29 July, in the main chamber of Nebraska's shining state capitol building, in the midst of one of the strangest legislative sessions in state history, a young senator stepped to a microphone.

    Tony Vargas was dressed in a trim blue suit, dark hair neatly parted to one side, a pair of trendy thick frame glasses perched on his nose over a green cloth face mask. The 35-year-old lawmaker stood out amongst his mostly greyer colleagues, but also because, along with two black and one Native American member of the legislature, he was one of only a few people of colour in the chamber. He is the state's only Latino senator.

    "I would like to thank you all in advance for hearing me out on this," he began.

    Read more of Tony's story here.

  18. Fact-checking Trump on coronaviruspublished at 03:06 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Donald TrumpImage source, Getty Images

    President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, in which more than 200,000 people in the US have died, has become a key issue in the forthcoming presidential election.

    Now that Trump has himself been hospitalised with Covid-19, the issue is are likely to be brought into even sharper focus during the final stages of the campaign.

    The president has compared mortality rates elsewhere with those of the United States, claiming they're considerably lower.

    Comparisons across countries are not straightforward as there are differing approaches to reporting coronavirus data.

    The US does have both the highest number of cases and the most overall recorded deaths, external of any country in the world.

    However, when you look at deaths per capita - as a proportion of each country's population - it is no longer top of the list, although it does remain in the top 10 worst-hit countries.

    Mr Trump has also recently pointed to the rising number of new infections across Europe, saying: "Frankly, their numbers are at a level that are much worse than the numbers here."

    It's certainly the case that some countries in Europe are experiencing a surge in new cases, but that is also true in some parts of the US.

    Here we fact-check some of Trump's other statements on coronavirus.

  19. Trump on Covid-19 in his own wordspublished at 02:49 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19, just over a month before the presidential election. The president has now been hospitalised.

    Here is a reminder of what he has said in the past about Covid-19 and the pandemic.

    Media caption,

    Trump on Covid-19 in his own words

  20. Reassuring his supporterspublished at 02:26 British Summer Time 3 October 2020

    Barbara Plett Usher
    BBC News, Washington

    A small group of onlookers pointed their smart phones to the sky as Marine 1 flew into view. They rushed to the gate of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – known as the “presidents’ hospital’ – to capture the moment the helicopter landed, some of them brandishing Trump signs.

    The president waved at them before getting into a black SUV for the short ride to the executive suite. It’s self-contained, complete with its own medical team, intensive care unit, room for the presidential secret service, and office space from which to govern the country.

    That’s what the White House says Mr Trump will do while undergoing tests due to an “abundance of caution”. He’s had to suspend his in-person campaign events after flouting coronavirus guidelines. So the carefully choreographed walks to and from M1 were a way to reassure his supporters, as well as the nation, that he’s still in charge.

    Secret service agents and President Trump's Marine 1 helicopter, 2 October 2020Image source, Reuters