Gottlieb: Trump Is ‘Probably Not’ Contagious, but May Not Test Negative for COVID-19 Yet

Roughly tens days after testing positive for COVID-19, President Donald Trump is itching to get back on the campaign trail. But questions remain about the condition of his health and whether or not he is still contagious. 

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner 👤Scott Gottlieb was asked by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face The Nation” on Sunday if it is possible that the president is still contagious. He responded, “Probably not.”

“And he’s not going to test negative for a period of time because we know that people continue to shed virus for a long period of time. But that’s dead virus. It’s a virus that doesn’t grow in a culture, can’t really pass on the infection,” he added.

Gottlieb also there are “indications” that Trump is not contagious. He explained the White House released information on subgenomic RNA that showed he “no longer has a replication-competent virus — meaning it’s not live virus.”

“Based on classic criteria, he’s about 10-days out from the onset of symptoms. He’s been symptom free, as best we know, for a number of days now. He’s been afebrile, without a fever, for more than one day. That should make him no longer contagious,” he said.

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Gottlieb also said that “the only confounding variable here is the drugs he received.” He explained that the steroid could prolong the period of time Trump sheds the virus.

“But, I think on the whole, it’s probably a safe assumption that’s he’s longer contagious. I think the question now is, has his health been restored? And we know that a lot of patients have lingering effects from Covid,” he added.

Trump held his first in-person event since testing positive for the virus, at the White House on Saturday. Speaking to his supporters, the president said, “I’m feeling great.”