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Donald Trump’s personal physician gave a positive assessment of the US president’s health on Saturday. At the same time, his statements raised questions, including the timing of the corona diagnosis.
When did the US president test positive for the coronavirus?
Trump himself announced his coronavirus test Thursday night (local time) and the positive result just before 1 a.m. on Friday night. His personal physician, Sean Conley, said Saturday lunchtime that the diagnosis was 72 hours ago. That would point to Wednesday.
When asked by reporters when Trump had now tested positive, Conley said: “On Thursday afternoon, after close contact and clinical evidence and a little more concern became known, we ran a new test.” She did not give any indication of what the “clinical evidence” was.
Also, another doctor said that the president had received an antibody drug about 48 hours ago, that is, Thursday at noon, that is, before the test.
After the statements generated massive questions, the White House circulated a written statement from the personal physician making it clear that the 72-hour and 48-hour times were incorrect and simply referred to the third and second days. “The president was diagnosed for the first time with Covid-19 on the night of Thursday, October 1 and received the first cocktail of Regeneron antibodies on Friday, October 2,” he concluded.
Why is time important?
On Wednesday, Trump attended a meeting with donors in Minnesota and campaigned in front of several thousand supporters. On Thursday he flew to a meeting with donors in New Jersey. If you have already done all this with the knowledge of a positive test, it would be extremely irresponsible, because you have to assume that you are very contagious at this stage.
When did Trump have his last negative corona test?
Conley declined to comment on that. Nor on the question of when Trump might have been infected.
Did Trump need extra oxygen supply?
Here Conley gave evasive answers. “She’s not getting extra oxygen now,” she continued restricting. After several questions from reporters, the personal physician said Trump also had no oxygen on Thursday and “yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he had no oxygen supply.” He expressly left open the possibility that Trump may have received additional oxygen at the White House on Friday morning.
The “New York Times” later reported, citing two sources close to the White House, that Trump had respiratory problems on Friday and that his oxygen levels had dropped. That prompted doctors to give him extra oxygen and transfer him to Walter Reed Hospital.
Why is that an important question?
Covid-19 can attack the lungs, affecting the body’s oxygen supply. That is why doctors initially oppose this by supplying extra oxygen.
Currently, Trump’s blood oxygen saturation is 96 percent, Conley said. She did not respond when asked if the president had lung damage and if she was being treated with steroids.
Does Trump have a fever?
Not anymore, says his personal physician. Trump had a temperature rise “from Thursday to Friday,” but has not had a fever since Friday morning. The personal physician would not say how high Trump’s fever was.
