Trump says US ‘learning to live’ with COVID-19: US election news

Donald Trump spends his first full day in the White House on Tuesday since leaving the hospital where he was being treated for coronavirus. Joe Biden campaigns in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Two new polls show Biden widening his lead nationally. Early voting begins in Indiana and Ohio. Pandemic survivors have slammed Trump’s suggestion that the coronavirus is nothing to fear, with 28 days until the election on November 3. Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the United States elections. This is Joseph Stepansky. Tuesday, October 6: 11:30 ET – White House says will take more precautions to protect staff around Trump The White House will take more precautions to protect staff around President Donald Trump following his positive test for COVID-19 last week, White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah told Fox News. “We always take precautions at events we host, and I certainly think in light of the President’s positive test and the First Lady, we’re going to take even more for the time being to protect essential staff around him,” Farah said. Asked by reporters if Trump would speak on Tuesday, Farah said they would hear from him in some form, though she declined to answer when asked if he planned a televised address. 10:45 ET – President Trump says he is ‘looking forward’ to the debate While continuing treatment for coronavirus on his first full day back at the White House, US President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he was feeling great, and looking forward to the next presidential debate scheduled for October 15. His opponent Joe Biden has said he would attend the debate if medical experts said it was safe. It is unclear exactly when and where the president contracted the virus and how long he might remain contagious.   10:00 ET – Biden makes ad push into rural Ohio as early voting begins Democrat Joe Biden is expanding his ad buys into every corner of Ohio as early voting begins Tuesday, signalling his campaign’s growing hopes that a state Trump won easily four years ago may be within his grasp. The new spots will air on radio in rural, traditionally Republican areas of the state, the campaign told The Associated Press, as well as on TV in Dayton. Toni Webb, Biden’s Ohio state director, said the presidential candidate will use the ads to speak “directly with hardworking families across the Buckeye State about his positive vision for unifying the country” – including his plans to “strengthen healthcare, build our economy back better, and deliver for working families”. Trump carried Ohio over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a comfortable eight percentage points in 2016. He now finds himself locked in a competitive battle for the Midwestern battleground and its 18 electoral votes, with polls showing the candidates tied with 97 percent of voters saying their minds were made up. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">