US President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in a hospital.
Bethesda:
US President Donald Trump said in a video posted to Twitter late Saturday night that he was feeling “much better” in his battle against coronavirus, but that the next few days would be “the real test.”
The 74-year-old man assured public opinion of his progress hours after a source with knowledge of the president’s state warned that his vital signs were worrying, with the next 48 hours critical.
“I came here, I didn’t feel so good,” said Trump, who is being treated at the Walter Reed military medical center near Washington after his Covid-19 diagnosis.
“I feel much better now, we are working hard to recover.”
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
It was unclear if the undated video, apparently filmed at Walter Reed, was made before or after the dire warnings about his health, which the US media later said came from White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
That message contrasted with a more optimistic assessment from his doctors, such as White House physician Sean Conley, who characterized Trump as mobile, fever-free for 24 hours and with a better cough and less nasal congestion and fatigue.
Wearing a blue jacket and white dress shirt, but more casual than usual without a tie, Trump predicted a quick recovery.
“I think I’ll be back soon and I hope to finish the campaign the way it started,” Trump said.
“We’ll see what happens in the next few days,” Trump said, adding that “I think that’s the real test.”
The president added that he “had had no choice” but to work from the hospital suite instead of huddling in his room to recover.
Trump has all the communications capabilities of the White House in a special suite in the hospital that allows him to perform his usual duties.
“They gave me that alternative: stay in the White House, lock yourself in, never leave. Don’t even go to the Oval Office, stay upstairs and enjoy it,” Trump said.
Trump added that this would have meant not seeing anyone in person, which was not his approach to the presidency.
He also thanked world heads of state “for their condolences … they know what we are going through.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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