First Lady Melania Trump cancels campaign travel to Pennsylvania due to lingering Covid cough

The first lady promoted a balanced diet, fresh air, and vitamins to staying healthy during recovery

Melania Trump has delayed her return to the campaign trail due to a lingering cough from Covid-19.

The first lady’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, said on Tuesday that Ms Trump has been improving daily following her recovery from the virus.

But she would not accompany Donald Trump to a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, out of an abundance of caution.

The Pennsylvania rally would have been her first campaign event since speaking at the Republican National Convention in August, and her first public appearance since the presidential debate on 29 September.

She and the president received their positive coronavirus test just days later on 1 October.

Ms Trump announced her recovery last week in an essay published to the White House website on 14 October, saying she had tested negative after a roller coaster of symptoms she treated with vitamins and healthy eating.

In a statement shared with media on Tuesday, Ms Grisham said: “Mrs Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from Covid-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be travelling today.”

The Pennsylvania event would have been Ms Trump’s first appearance at a rally in over a year, having previously joined her husband in June 2019 as part of the official re-election campaign kick-off in Florida.

In her essay “My personal experience with Covid-19”, in which she announced son Barron Trump had also tested positive for Covid-19, Ms Trump said she the recovery gave her an opportunity to reflect on her work.

“I was very fortunate as my diagnosis came with minimal symptoms, though they hit me all at once and it seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after. I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time,” she wrote at the time.

“I am happy to report that I have tested negative and hope to resume my duties as soon as I can.”