Trump 'no longer a transmission risk to others'

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump is no longer a Covid transmission risk to others, the White House physician has said.

Sean Conley's memo is the first update on Trump's health since Thursday.

There had been concerns that he might still be contagious following his three-day hospital stay. However, the statement did not say whether Trump had tested negative for Covid-19.

He is due to face Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the presidential election in less than a month, on November 3.

The doctor's memo said the latest tests on the president revealed there was "no longer evidence of actively replicating virus," and that his viral load was "decreasing."

Dr Conley's latest update comes after President Trump told a crowd at a White House event that he was "feeling great". He also said that he was no longer taking any medication against Covid-19.

Meanwhile in Brazil, the number of people to have died from Covid-19 has passed 150, 000, the country's health ministry says.

Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, after the US, and the third-highest number of cases after the US and India.

The country also passed five million total infections earlier this week.

President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of downplaying the risks of the virus throughout the pandemic, ignoring expert advice on restrictive measures.

Brazil has by far the highest number of deaths in South America, and the state of São Paulo has been the worst hit.

According to figures from the health ministry, 150,198 people in Brazil have died of Covid since the first fatality was recorded in March, and 5, 082, 637 people have tested positive for the virus.