Detail on Trump's hand fuels speculation after Covid diagnosis

US President Donald Trump has made his first public appearance at the White House since being treated for coronavirus in hospital.

But a number of people are questioning the nature of his recovery after spotting bandages on his right hand.

Trump took off a mask moments after he emerged on the balcony to address the crowd on the lawn below, his first step back onto the public stage with just more than three weeks to go until Election Day.

He flouted the safety recommendations of his own government just days after acknowledging that he was on the brink of “bad things” from the virus and claiming that his bout with the illness brought him a better understanding of it.

With bandages visible on his hands, likely from an intravenous injection, Mr Trump spoke for 18 minutes, far less than his normal hour-plus rallies.

He appeared healthy, if perhaps a little hoarse, as he delivered what was, for all intents and purposes, a short version of his campaign speech despite the executive mansion setting.

“I’m feeling great,” Trump said.

He added he was thankful for their good wishes and prayers as he recovered. He then declared that the pandemic, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans, was “disappearing” even though he is still recovering from the virus.

In a memo released by the White House, Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley said Trump met the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognised standards” he was no longer considered a transmission risk.

On Twitter, people were more interested in why the US President had bandages on his right hand.

Dr Jorge Caballero, an anaesthesiologist at The Stanford Department of Anaesthesiology, tweeted he’s “99.9 per cent certain” the bandages are covering where the president received an IV drip.

He also pointed out photos of Trump working in the hospital last weekend, which were released by the White House, showing his hand with no bandages.

Others believed this is the case too, with some adding it’s nothing unusual given he was only in hospital last week.

But it does add to a number of questions about the president’s health.

Many people speculated in a video released last weekend that the US President was still sick – based on what many believed was a jump cut hiding a cough from Mr Trump.

The speculation won’t be helped by suggestions Dr Conley and other medical professionals who looked after the US President were hiding details about his health – something Dr Conley has refuted.

Dr Conley refused to answer a question last weekend as to whether Mr Trump needed oxygen for treatment.

However, Dr Conley answered a day later saying he had ordered oxygen for Mr Trump days earlier.

with The Associated Press

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