Trump maps return to campaign trail after White House says COVID-19 treatment complete

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican President Donald Trump on Friday prepared to return to the campaign trail with a pair of weekend rallies after his COVID-19 diagnosis sidelined him for a week in the race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden for the White House.

Trump, who announced he had been infected with the coronavirus on Oct. 2 and spent three nights in a military hospital receiving treatment, said late on Thursday he was feeling “really good” and, with a doctor’s blessing, aimed to campaign in Florida on Saturday and in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Trump’s illness has kept him from crisscrossing the country to rally support and raise cash in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election. A return to in-person events would be aimed at convincing voters he is healthy enough to campaign and to govern.

While Trump has released several videos on Twitter, he has not appeared in public since he returned home from the hospital on Monday. Biden has continued to campaign, with events scheduled on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.