Monday,  Oct. 5th, 2020

US president Donald Trump returns to White House to continue his treatment there after three-night stay in Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre. But he downplay the virus upon “controversial” return from the hospital. (BBC)

New York governor Andrew Cuomo orders schools to close starting tomorrow in several “hot spots” around the state, including parts of the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. This comes after COVID-19 test positivity rates rose above 3% in those areas for seven days in a row. Cuomo declined to close non-essential businesses and religious institutions. (CNN)

Iceland orders all bars, gyms and entertainment venues to close, and cuts the number of people allowed to gather in public from 200 to 20 amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country. (Reuters)

Report: Trump kept quiet about 1st positive COVID-19 test When President Trump called into Fox News on Thursday night and confirmed that his close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19, he didn’t share with viewers that he also had a positive result from a rapid test and was waiting for the results from a more thorough screening, several people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Trump said he had been tested and would get the results back “either tonight or tomorrow morning.” Early Friday morning, Trump tweeted that both he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus. When Hicks tested positive on Thursday morning, Trump’s top advisers wanted to make sure this was kept under wraps, people familiar with the matter told the Journal, and Trump told another unidentified adviser that they should keep their positive test results to themselves, saying, “Don’t tell anyone.” Source: The Wall Street Journal

Biden expands lead over Trump in post-debate poll Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden widened his national lead over President Trump after Tuesday’s debate, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday. The poll was conducted two days after the acrimonious debate, and before Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Biden surged to a 14-point lead over Trump among registered voters, 53 percent to 39 percent. It is Biden’s largest lead of the campaign in this poll. Biden led by 8 points before the debate, the first of three scheduled before the Nov. 3 election, and his biggest previous edge was 11 points. Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster who directed the survey with Democrat Jeff Horwitt, said the chaotic debate might have delivered a “shock to the system,” but Trump has a history of bouncing back. Source: The Wall Street Journal

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