WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail less than two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus, BBC reported.

Thousands gathered at an outdoor rally in Sanford, Florida, where a defiant Trump made the first of four planned campaign stops over the next four days in battleground states.

The president and rival Joe Biden are scrambling to secure votes with three weeks until the 3 November election.

On Monday Biden spoke in Ohio, another swing state.

Polling suggests Biden has a 10-point lead over Trump nationally. However his lead in some key states is narrower – as is the case in Florida, where he is 3.7 points ahead, according to an average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics.

Battlegrounds like the “Sunshine State” are crucial for gathering the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House, which is not determined by a simple popular ballot count.

Trump tested positive for Covid-19 some 11 days ago, and was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center a day later.