His Senate Majority Leader has avoided Trump since August out of fear of Covid

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn't come close to the White House since August 6, due to the Trump administration's lack of Covid-19 security protocols

(photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) During an event in Kentucky on Thursday, October 8, facing the subject of President Donald Trump's health conditions, Republican majority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell candidly admitted that he has not been to the White House since August 6. The reason? Failure by the Trump administration to comply with anti-Covid-19 security measures. However, McConnell said he maintains regular telephone contact with the president, who "looks perfectly fit" after his illness.

To justify his distancing from Trump, the senator underlined the clear difference between the way the Oval Office faces the pandemic and that adopted by Congress, “which is to wear a mask and apply the social distancing ". McConnell himself wore the mask, also urging others to do the same in front of the cameras. And the vast majority of senators in Washington wear protection regularly.

Some have gone wrong, though. Reps Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Mike Lee (Utah), and Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks. Tillis and Lee both attended the ceremony for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett as a candidate judge at the US Supreme Court, held in the Rose Garden of the White House on September 26. One of the reasons McConnell cares about the health of the Senate, in fact, is the confirmation of Barrett's appointment before the presidential elections on November 3: if Trump were to lose, the Republicans would also lose the majority in the Senate and, therefore, votes for Barrett. But if in the meantime the GOP senators all end up in quarantine due to Covid-19, the risk for Barrett will be the same.

Is Trump back to work?

On the same day of Thursday 8 October, White House doctor Sean Conley announced that Trump has completed his treatments to relieve the symptoms of Covi-19 and that the president will be able to resume "public commitments" from this Saturday - the tenth day after the diagnosis of his illness. In his update note, Dr. Conley said the president has remained "stable" and "free" of symptoms these days, suggesting that the disease is receding. However, White House officials declined to say when Trump last tested negative.

According to the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, those who test positive for the coronavirus should isolate themselves from others for a minimum of 10 days after testing positive or for at least 10 days after the first symptoms appear. With a moderate or severe case of Covid-19, one can remain infectious for up to 20 days or more. Despite the doubts of the experts, Trump seems determined to resume his own election campaign which could violate public health guidelines.