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October 02, 2020 – 7:50 pm
AFP
President Donald Trump, who for a long time downplayed the danger of covid-19, announced on Friday that he had tested positive for the virus and was admitted to a military hospital outside Washington where he will remain for the next few days. Here is a summary of what is known so far about this infection that adds drama to the US election campaign.
Where is Trump?
Trump will spend the “next few days” in a military hospital outside Washington for treatment for the coronavirus, but will continue to work, the White House said Friday.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters that the president “will work from the presidential offices of Walter Reed (hospital) for the next few days.”
The president’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said all campaign events announced prior to the Nov. 3 election will be held virtually or postponed.
There are also doubts as to whether the two debates planned this month between Trump and Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic rival, will continue.
What treatment are you receiving?
White House physician Sean Conley said Friday that the president was “fatigued but in a good mood” and was receiving an experimental treatment for covid-19.
Trump received a single dose of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, Conley said in a letter.
The treatment is undergoing clinical trials, but regulators have not yet approved it.
Earlier, Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said the president had “mild symptoms.”
At 74, Trump is “at higher risk of contracting a serious illness” due to COVID-19, according to the US health agency CDC.
Also read: Trump was transferred to a military hospital and “will continue working from there”: White House
Trump will be closely monitored for the wide range of symptoms that Covid-19 presents, including fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain and headache.
What are your symptoms?
On Thursday, Trump did not immediately isolate himself after his assistant Hope Hicks tested positive.
Instead, he boarded a plane to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser and gave a speech surrounded by dozens of people before returning to the White House.
The New York Times cited unidentified sources as saying Trump showed mild symptoms at Thursday night’s fundraiser at his golf club in New Jersey when he appeared sleepy.
A source told the newspaper that he had symptoms similar to those of a cold.
In a short video message posted on his Twitter account as he arrived at the hospital by helicopter on Friday, Trump said he believed he was “very well.”
How did it get infected?
How Trump was infected is unknown, but the president has not followed medical advice during the election campaign: he rarely wore a mask in public and often met and spoke with large groups of people.
The White House alarm bells began to ring when Hope Hicks tested positive. She is a central figure in Trump’s inner circle and traveled with him multiple times in the last week.
Hicks was also closely involved in preparations for Tuesday’s debate against Biden.
At the televised event, many of Trump’s guests did not wear masks.
Who else in the White House has covid-19?
Vice President Mike Pence, who would take power if Trump becomes seriously ill, tested negative on Friday, as did Trump’s teenage son Barron.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law and close advisers, also tested negative, as did Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Health Secretary Alex Azar.
Ronna McDaniel, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, tested positive several days ago, it was announced Friday.
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