US President Donald Trump rallied hundreds of supporters for a comeback event at the White House, jumping back into the election race nine days after being stopped in his tracks by Covid-19 – a disease his doctor says he is no longer at risk of spreading.

“I am feeling great!” Trump declared as he stepped out to a White House balcony on Saturday – tugging off his mask to address the crowd, most of them masked under their red “Make America Great Again” hats, but with little social distancing.

“Get out and vote – and I love you,” Trump told supporters, who chanted “USA” and “Four more years” throughout the address lasting just under 20 minutes.

Badly trailing his 77-year-old Democratic rival Joe Biden in the polls less than four weeks from election day, Trump has been counting the days until he can hit the trail again.

The White House doctor announced late on Saturday the president was “no longer considered a transmission risk”.

Tests showed there was “no longer evidence of actively replicating virus” and that Trump’s viral load was “decreasing”, Sean Conley said – though he did not state that the president was virus-free.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that, for mild or moderate Covid-19 cases, isolation and precautions can be discontinued 10 days after symptom onset, and once patients have been fever-free for 24 hours. However, the severity of Trump’s illness has not been confirmed.

Saturday’s event set the stage for a full-fledged campaign rally on Monday in Florida – followed immediately by two more in battleground Pennsylvania on Tuesday and Iowa on Wednesday.

Biden has slammed as “reckless” Trump’s determination to rally huge crowds during the pandemic – but the president has brushed the concerns aside, insisting that the US has the upper hand against the virus despite a death toll of 213,000 and rising.

Trump said: “I want you to know our nation is going to defeat this terrible China virus.

“It’s going to disappear. It is disappearing.

“We are producing powerful therapies and drugs, and we are healing the sick and we are going to recover, and the vaccine is coming out very quickly, in record time as you know.”